The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of the application of an aerobic sediment slurry-sequencing batch reactor (SS-SBR) for the treatment of polyciclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated lagoon sediment. In this work, the application of aerobic processes to SS-SBR technologies is investigated. In the study the Venice lagoon sediment samples were characterised for PAH, PCB and heavy metal contents. The sampled sediment were used for the preparation of several slurries. Respirometric experiments were carried out to evaluate the biological and chemical oxygen uptake rate. Moreover, PAHs and nine selected PCB congeners were measured during the respirometric tests. The sediment shows high chemical oxygen demand (approximately 50% of the total oxygen demand). The chemical oxygen uptake is particularly large at the initial phase. The chemical oxidation seems to be considerably faster than the biological reaction. Aerobic biodegradation seems to occur only for low-molecular-weight PAHs (two-three rings) whereas high molecular PAHs are not degraded during the duration of the experiments carried out in this study (five days). The nine PCB congeners measured in this research show an average disappearance of about 25 per cent.