Green and cost-effective treatment of cyanide-bearing wastewaters(CBWs) restricts sustainable development of gold cyanidation plants.Electrochemical precipitation method is used to treat CBWs with Zn plate as galvanic anode.The effects of current density,pH,and initial total cyanide concentration on cyanide removal performance were discussed.Then,the removal mechanisms of cyanide were elucidated by a combination of cyclic voltammetry,pHPZC,XRD,SEM-EDS and XPS characterization.The experimental result demonstrated that the removal rates of total cyanide,Cu and   Fe   in industrial CBWs are respectively 98 %,91 % and 96 % under optimal conditions.Removal mechanisms suggested that free cyanide,mainly in the form of Zn(CN)₂,goes into the electrolytic residue.The effect of Zn^2＋ replacement and electro-reduction promoted 72 % of Cu from CBWs to be reduced and recovered in the cathode.Fe,mainly in the form of Zn₂[Fe(CN)₆] precipitate,goes into the residue.