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The role of combined arsenic and antibiotics pollution in the environment has recently gained more attention. In this study, a new approach to eliminate tetracycline antibiotics (TCs) from water, via the fern speciesPteris vittata(L.), an arsenic hyperaccumulator, was investigated. The encouraging results showed that more than half of the TCs could be removed from the water solution (with the starting concentration of TCs about 1.0 mg kg−1respectively) after one day of treatment. No TCs (less than 0.01 mg kg−1) were detected in the solution after five days of treatment. The results showed thatPteris vittatahas high ability to eliminate TCs, which makes it suitable for practical application. Further research found that TCs concentrations were very low in both the roots and the pinnae ofPteris vittata, which indicates that accumulation in the fronds is not the main removal mechanism and that degradation in the fronds might be the main cause. Present results provide a feasible method for simultaneous removal of arsenic and TCs from livestock-polluted wastewater. However, more research work should be done before any real-world application is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]