Bench-scale anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A²O) and sequencing batch reactor (SBR) processes were operated for the simultaneous organics and nutrient removal from synthetic wastewater. The effect of operating parameter, namely hydraulic retention time (HRT) was investigated at first. The optimized cycle time for SBR was as short as 6 hours, corresponding to 13.8 hours HRT, while the optimum total HRT for A²O process was also 13.8 hours. The A²O process possessed a relatively higher treatment capacity when the two reactors were with the same working volume. Under optimized HRT, the removal efficiencies for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and NH₃-N were above 92 and 98% respectively for both processes. But effluent concentrations of nitrite and nitrate in A²O reactor were relatively higher than that in SBR reactor Phosphorus release and uptake in A²O reactor was negatively affected due to disrupt of anaerobic condition in the first tank. As a result, significant amounts of total nitrogen (TN, 93%) and total phosphorus (TP, 85%) were removed from synthetic wastewater in the SBR process, while slightly lower removal efficiencies of nitrogen and phosphorus were obtained in the A²O process.