Several white-rot fungi collected from the mountains of Korea were evaluated for their ability to decolorize azo, polymeric, and reactive dyes. Strains CJ-105, CJ-212 and CJ-315, identified as Trametes sp., Pleurotus sp. and Fomes sp., respectively, showed higher potential for decolorization of those dyes in either solid or liquid media. For Trametes sp. CJ-105, 100ppm of Remazol Brilliant blue R and 500ppm of Acid Red 264 were completely decolorized after 2 days under liquid culture. The dominating ligninolytic enzyme existing in the culture broth was laccase (E.C. 1.10.3.2). Also, Pleurotus sp. CJ-212 and Fomes sp. CJ-315 showed similar patterns in decolorization of Remazol Brilliant Blue R and Acid Red 264. The extent of decolorization of the dyes in liquid culture was found to be proportional to the activities of the ligninolytic of decolorization of the dyes in liquid culture was found to be proportional to the activities of the ligninolytic enzymes produced by each strain. In addition to that Trametes sp. CJ-105 was highly effective in degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pentachlorophenol by the activity of the ligninolytic enzymes produced. In this study, we found that white-rot fungi, Trametes sp. CJ-105(KFCC 10941), Pleurotus sp. CJ-212(KFCC 10943) and Fomes sp. CJ-315(KFCC 10942), were effective in decolorizing a wide range of structurally different synthetic dyes, as well as some chemical compounds which are known to be hardly degradable.