The occurrence of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) in aquatic environment is a health concern. The presence of SMX significantly inhibited the laccase activity of Pycnoporus sanguineus with a lower removal efficiency of SMX. Although a laccase system with 2,20-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) eliminated 100% SMX within 6 h, ABTS might cause an environmental issue. An alternative to SMX elimination is the coculture of Alcaligenes faecalis and P. sanguineus. The SMX removal efficiency at 48 h under the coculture with vitamins was higher than that under their pure culture alone, indicating that a coculture was more efficient in eliminating SMX than a pure culture. Only 1% SMX was detected in mycelia, indicating that SMX elimination is achieved primarily through biotransformation rather than adsorption. Laccase production by the coculture effectively inhibited the accumulations of N4-acetyl-SMX and N-hydroxy-SMX and alleviated the cytotoxicity of SMX transformation products. The mixture of SMX and sulfadiazine inhibited their removal efficiency. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.