The escalation of the global viral prevalence and the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened medicine residues and environmental risks. The pioneering study revealed that freshwater microalgae Chlorella sp. SI-50 tolerated the antiviral ribavirin (RBV) ranging in 1-5 mg/L, notable inhibition was observed at 10 mg/L. The increased oxidative damage, antioxidant enzyme and extracellular polysaccharide levels at 10 mg/L further substantiate this. Remarkably, Chlorella sp. SI-50 achieved RBV removal of 99 %, 61 % and 35 % at 1, 5 and 10 mg/L, respectively. The algae-wastewater group, which inoculated algae, exhibited 87 % of RBV removal, a marked improvement over the 17 % in the blank group devoid of microalgae. Ultimately, the toxicity of byproducts was confirmed to become lower through in vitro of J774A.1 cell and Caenorhabditis elegans, validating the reliability of degradation. This study provided valuable insights and sustainable directions for the biological purification of antiviral or RBV-contaminated wastewater.