Abstract: Pulse electro-coagulation (PE) technology was applied to the treatment of berberine hydrochloride pharmaceutical wastewater. A comparison between pulse electro-coagulation and traditional electro-coagulation (EC) was carried out, and the influences of pulse duty cycle, current density, pulse frequency, electrode distance, and electrolysis time on the removal efficiencies of berberine hydrochloride and COD_Cr were investigated. The results indicated that the energy cost by PE decreased 80% in comparison with that of EC. Under the optimal conditions of duty cycle of 0.3, pulse frequency of 1.0 kHz, current density of 19.44 mA/cm², electrode distance of 2.0 cm, and reaction time of 210 min, the removal efficiencies of berberine hydrochloride and COD_Cr reached 72.8% and 69.6%, respectively. Under the above optimal conditions, real berberine hydrochloride wastewater was treated by PE; the removal efficiencies of berberine hydrochloride and COD_Cr reached about 92.1% and 62.6%, respectively.