The anaerobic biodegradability of some commercially important colorants was investigated in upflow stirred packed-bed reactors (USPBR) containing biological activated carbon (BAC) system. Decolorization with very high reduction rates took place in the case of azo dyes. At least 80% of conversion was achieved for these dyes at a space time (τ) of 2.0 min or higher corresponding to a residence time of about 1.8 min at the most. On the contrary, nonazo xanthene dye was not converted in the anaerobic bioreactor system. A simple model was proposed to predict azo dye decolorization involving both heterogeneous catalysis and biological degradation. Adsorption studies for the dyes revealed that their adsorption affinity to activated carbon is not the key factor in the reduction process. Results from voltammetric experiments show that a correlation exists between electrochemical characteristic and anaerobic biodegradability of different azo dyes in the continuous USPBR-BAC catalytic system.