A B S T R A C TFor the first time the present study investigated the production, characterization and application of engineeredbiochar derived from alfalfa hays for removal of tetracycline (TC) in water. The NaOH activation of alfalfa-derived raw biochar (BCR) made significant increase in surface area (796.50 m2/g) and pore volume (0.087 cm3/g). The NaOH-activated BC (BCA) showed much higher adsorption capacity for TC (Qm= 302.37 mg/g) thanBCR, but comparable to the commercial activated carbon (Calgon F400). The detailed analyses of the kinetic andisotherm studies suggested the strong chemisorptive interactions between TC and BCAvia multiple mechanisms.In addition, intraparticle diffusion was considered as the major limitation for the adsorption of TC onto BCA.Furthermore, the fixed bed experiments revealed that BCAcould be a promising adsorbent for treating largevolume of TC-contaminated water in columns.