Electrical discharges generated at water-gas interface in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor have been tested for the degradation and mineralization of a model pharmaceutical compound sulfamethoxazole (SMX). Nonthermal plasma degradation of the pollutant proceeds via in-situ generation of active species like hydroxyl radical (HO•), hydrogen peroxide and ozone. It has been observed that degradation and mineralization of SMX was enhanced on addition of ZrO2/CeO2 catalyst to the plasma reactor. Typical results indicated that SMX degradation followed first-order kinetics. © 2015 Science & Technology Network, Inc.