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This research investigated the feasibility of coarse/fine sand filtration for removing organic materials and nutrients from turkey processing wastewater. The column operation was tested with three organic and hydraulic loadings. Six columns of three groups were filled with fine and coarse sand to a height of 66.0 cm (26 in). The two-layered columns were initially inoculated with the a mixture of 20% (vol/vol) of lagoon sludge, 40% (vol/vol) of turkey processing wastewater, and 40% (vol/vol) of BOD5 dilution water before starting column operation with turkey processing wastewater. The wastewater was applied to each sand bioreactor at hydraulic loading rates of 264.04, 132.02 and 66.01 L/m2/day. Each group comprised duplicate columns with the same hydraulic loading. A commercially available detergent, Ivory, was added to the wastewater at 0.04% (wt/vol). Because the sand columns were inoculated, maximum removal efficiencies of effluent quality were reached rapidly within 10 days. For over 80 days of column operation at low and mid hydraulic loading rates (below 132.02 L/m2/day), the concentration of organic materials in the effluents was low because of the >95% removal of BOD5, COD and TOC. The removal efficiency of a high hydraulic loading rate columns (264.04 L/m2/day) declined after the appearance of a black zone in the top of the fine sand layer on day 50. Nutrients ammonia and phosphorus were also removed from the wastewater during column operation.