Ferrate (Fe(VI)) has high potentials as a multi-purpose water treatment chemical acting as an oxidant, coagulant, and disinfectant, but little detail has been reported concerning its biocidal ability. In this study, the inactivation efficiencies of three Fe(VI) species (H(x)FeO(4)(x-2), x=0, 1, 2) are quantified using Escherichia coli as a model microorganism. E. coli inactivation by Fe(VI) was performed in solutions buffered with 25 mM phosphate in the pH range of 5.6-8.2 and at 25 degrees C. Kinetics of E. coli inactivation were successfully fitted to the Modified Delayed Chick-Watson model in the tested pH range, indicating that log inactivation level of E. coli is linearly proportional to exposure amount of E. coli to Fe(VI). The rate constant of E. coli inactivation by Fe(VI) (k(obs)) that was obtained from the linear regression increased non-linearly from 0.33 to 6.25 l(mg min)(-1) with decreasing pH from 8.2 to 5.6. From the measured pH dependency of k(obs) and the known acidity constants of Fe(VI) species (pK(a), H(2)FeO(4)=3.50 and pK(a), HFeO(4)(-)=7.23), HFeO(4)(-) and H(2)FeO(4) were found to be 3 and 265 times as effective as FeO(4)(2-) in E. coli inactivation, respectively.