With rural population expansion and improvement of the socio-economic standard of living, treatment of rural domestic wastewater has rapidly become a major aspect of environmental concern. Selection of a suitable method for treatment of rural domestic wastewater depends on its efficiency, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. This study investigated the effects of hydraulic retention time （HRT）, temperature, and effluent recycling on the treatment efficiency of an anaerobic filter （AF） reactor. The first round of experimental operations was run for three months with HRTs of one, two, and three days, temperatures of 18℃, 21℃, and 24℃, and no effluent recycling. The second round of experimental operations was conducted for another three months with HRTs of three and four days; temperatures of 30.67℃, 30.57℃, and 26.91 ℃ ; and three effluent recycling ratios of 1：1, 1：2, and 2：1. The first round of operations showed removal rates of 32% to 44% for COD, 30% to 35% for TN, 32% to 36% for NH4-N, 19% to 23% for NO3-N, and 12% to 22% for TE In the second round of operations, the removal rates varied from 75% to 81% for COD, 35% to 41% for TN, 31% to 39% for NH4-N, 30% to 34% for NO3-N, and 41% to 48% for TP. The average gas production rates were 6.72 L/d and 7.26 L/d for the first and second rounds of operations, respectively. The gas production rate increased in the second round of operations as a result of applied effluent recycling. The best removal efficiency was obtained for an optimum HRT of three days, a temperature of 30℃, and an effluent recycling ratio of 2：1. The results show that the removal efficiency of the AF reactor was affected by HRT, temperature, and effluent recycling.
