In order to degrade thiacloprid pesticide residues in environmental water, a UV ferrous activated persulfate system was constructed. The effects of Fe2+ concentration, persulfate concentration, pH value and UV power on the degradation rate of thiacloprid were investigated through a single factor experiment. On this basis, a mathematical model between the influencing factors and the response value was established using response surface experiment. The model fitting results showed that predicted highest thiacloprid degradation rate of the model was 100% when the Fe2+ concentration was 0.340mmol/L, the persulfate concentration was 0.610mmol/L and the UV power was 45.81W. The validation test result (99.2%) was basically consistent with the predicted value, indicating that the response surface methodology was feasible for optimizing the degradation of thiacloprid in the UV ferrous activated persulfate system.