A kind of imitation enzyme catalyst, Fe3O4 nanoparticles decorated Al pillared bentonite (Fe3O4/Al-B), was successfully prepared by in situ precipitation oxidization method and then applied for the adsorption and degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) in the presence of H2O2. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, SEM, XPS, BET, VSM and FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of oxidant concentration, initial RhB concentration and iron leaching on the degradation of RhB were investigated. The surface interactions with RhB in the absence and the presence of oxidant could be well described by Langmuir and Langmuir-Hinshelwood models, respectively. The Fe3O4/Al-B showed higher ability of adsorption and degradation efficiency toward RhB than bare Fe3O4 in the batch experiments. The whole degradation process of RhB followed pseudo-first-order rate law and was mainly controlled by surface mechanism reaction. The enhanced degradation efficiency of Fe3O4/Al-B might relate to the enrichment of RhB molecules by Al-B in the vicinities of active sites. Furthermore, the catalyst showed stable catalytic activity and convenient recycling. Negligible iron leaching showed the reused Fe3O4/Al-B can withstood the oxidation. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.