A pyridine-degrading strain Gemmobacter sp. ZP-12, isolated from an activated sludge, was able to use pyridine as the sole carbon and nitrogen source for the growth. The strain could effectively degrade pyridine and remove TOC over a wide range of initial pyridine concentrations. The pyridine degradation rate for 100, 500, 1000, 1500 and 2000 mg/L was 2.90 +/- 0.17; 13.72 +/- 0.21, 20.40 +/- 0.24, 31.09 +/- 0.26, 27.63 +/- 0.17 mg/L/h, respectively. During the pyridine degraded, a large amount of NH4+-N was released and accumulated. The accumulation of NH4+-N increased with the increase of pyridine concentration. For further removing the NH4+-N producing in pyridine degradation, an aerobic-moving bed biofilm reactor coupled with intermittent-aeration membrane biological reactor (a-MBBR-IMBR) was constructed, in which the strain and the aerobic / anoxic mixed sludge combined to remove the pollutants in the wastewater containing 500 mg/L pyridine. After 96 h of operation, the final TOC removal efficiency was 96.5 +/- 1.05 %. The average residual concentration of NO3--N and NH4+-N was respectively 9.09 +/- 4.13 mg/L and 7.85 +/- 3.88 mg/L. The study provides a viable option for treating pyridine wastewater.