AbstractMunicipal activated sludge was cultivated in a medium composed of formaldehyde, glucose and mineral salt. By passages with increasing formaldehyde content a bacterial culture was selected which remained active also at initial concentrations of 1 g/1 formaldehyde. With this culture, formaldehyde and glucose were oxidized simultaneously to formate and gluconate, which subsequently served simultaneously as substrate for the growth of bacteria. Glucose alone was also oxidized to gluconate, which then was used as substrate for growth. Formaldehyde alone was only oxidized. If the actual formaldehyde concentration was kept low, however, by fed‐batch cultivation, it was assimilated also through formate formation. The biochemical background and the importance of the findings for the purification of formaldehyde‐containing wastewaters are discus