Clay pillared with Fe-Al was synthesized as a catalyst for Fenton oxidation of phenol by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The pillaring process altered the basal space of clay, which is related to the amounts of aluminium and iron in the pillaring solution. The catalytic activity of the pillared clay was attributed to the accessible iron species, whose amount is regulated not only by the introduced iron species but also by the basal space that subsequently depends on the introduced aluminium species. The heterogeneous Fenton reaction exhibited an induction period followed by an apparent first order oxidation of phenol by H2O2. The induction period was proposed as an activation process of the surface iron species, which is thus enabled to complex with the reactants. The induction time (t(1)) depended on temperature (T) and pH condition but irrelevant to the concentrations of phenol and H2O2 and the amount of catalyst. The rate of the oxidation process was evaluated with respect to the concentrations of phenol and H2O2, the amount of catalyst, pH and temperatures. During the catalytic reaction the trend of iron leaching showed an ascending period and a descending period, which was related to the presence of ferrous ions and ferric ions. The Fe-Al pillared was recovered through two procedures, dry powder and slurry, which have different effect on the induction period. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.