Introduction: Presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment is considered a serious threat for the human being and entrance of these compounds into aquatic water causes contamination of plants, soil, and animals and develops some problems for the public health. This necessitates provision of the facilities for wastewater treatment in the production sources of these compounds, so that they are not released to the environment indiscriminately. In this research, having reviewed previous studies, the effects of these compounds on the environment have been examined and their different methods of removal were studied.

Methods: This research is of descriptive-explanatory type and has been developed using library documents.

Results: The results indicated that antibiotics are not removed completely in the treatment process and cause resistance of microorganisms in the environment. Although the concentration of these compounds in water is of nano gram or microgram scale, their storage in the body of livestock and poultry and plants can develop diseases for the human and animals. Further, nanotechnology with its novel and new solutions states that the materials with this size can result in less expensive, more sustainable, and more effective water treatment technologies. In this way, they can meet a part of the needs of developing countries.

Conclusion:: In addition to the therapeutic advantages of antibiotics, their indiscriminate usage has caused them to be considered as environmental contaminants. Accordingly, consumption of antibiotics requires accurate and systematic control.