Bacterial cellulose doped with P and Cu was used as a catalyst for a microbial fuel cell (MFC) cathode,which was then used to treat ethanol fermentation stillage from food waste.Corresponding output power,coulombic efficiency (CE),and biological toxicity were detected.Through a series of characteriza-tion experiments,the addition of the cathode catalyst was found to improve catalytic activity and accel-erate the consumption of the substrate.The resulting maximum output power was 572.16 mW·m-2.CE and the removal rate of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the fermentation stillage by P-Cu-BC reached 26％ and 64.5％,respectively.The rate of biotoxicity removal by MFC treatment reached 84.7％.The aim of this study was apply a novel catalyst for MFC and optimize the treatment efficiency of fermentation stillage.