Abstract: The frequent detection of emerging contaminants poses a potential risk to ecosystems and human health, such as antibiotics and endocrine disruptors in the environment in recent years. The research and development of efficient and stable organic pollutant control technology is a research hotspot in the current environmental field. Taking the advanced oxidation technology of activated peracetic acid (PAA) as the research example, the effectiveness of activated PAA through transition metals, carbon materials and their composites, and their degradation mechanism of organics were discussed, with emphasis on the degradation mechanism of free radicals (organic radicals, hydroxyl radicals) and non-radicals (singlet oxygen, high-valent metal-Oxo species, electron transfer and surface complexes). In addition, the application effect of activated PAA in wastewater, soil or sediments, groundwater, and other environmental media for the degradation of organic pollutants was summarized. Finally, future research focuses were proposed, including developing the catalysts of activated PAA with efficiency and stability, strengthening the mechanism exploration of activated PAA to degrade organic pollutants in soil and sediment, and deepening the application studies of combined treatment technologies.