Degradation of dyes is an important environmental issue. In order to avoid the carcinogenic risks in anaerobic-aerobic biological process for wastewater containing azo dyes, a hemin based biomimetic oxidative degradation of azo dyes was developed. Acid orange 7 (AO7) was selected as the model for azo dye and the high efficient degradation was achieved in hemin/H2O2 system at pH 11.0. Degradation could be described by a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The order of dependence on H2O2 concentration was significantly larger than that of hemin. Coexisting anions sulphate and chloride had little effect on the degradation, but reductive sulphite dramatically inhibited the degradation. The protic solvent 2-prophanol obviously promoted the degradation. Azo chromogenic group was destroyed quickly and some smaller intermediates formed. Active species oxoferryl porphyrin p-cation radical +PFeIV=O generated from heterolytic cleavage of O-O in H2O2 catalyzed by hemin play the main roles in degradation and reaction pathways were proposed.