Abstract: A fluvo-aquic soil from Shandong Province was artificially contaminated with hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and thermally treated under different temperatures and times to study the removal efficiencies of HCB and its decomposition products. The results indicated that thermal desorption could effectively remove hexachlorobenzene from the soil. The removal rates of HCB increased with increasing temperature and extending treatment time. The removal rate of HCB was 94.2% when the soil was treated at 400 ℃ for 10 min, and increased to 99.4% when the soil was treated at 450 ℃ for 60 min. The residual concentration was less than the Class A standard of soil quality assessment for exhibition sites (≤ 0.66 mg/kg). Further increases of temperature and/or treatment time had no effects on the removal rate of HCB. The thermal desorption process of HCB was not only a physical separation process, but also a reductive dechlorination process. The residual contaminants in soil after thermal desorption were HCB, 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene. The optimal operating conditions of thermal desorption were 450 ℃, 60 min.