Pesticides are a major source of environmental concern due to their persistence and health and ecological impacts, particularly in developing countries. Heterogeneous photocatalysis has emerged as a promising technique for their removal from wastewaters. But effective implementation requires the development of efficient and practical photocatalytic systems. A novel photo reactor was developed in this study using TiO2-coated polymeric beads as floating catalysts which enabled efficient penetration of UV radiation; good mixing and high mass transfer rates. The performance of the immobilised bead photo reactor was evaluated for the removal of an organophosphate pesticide—monocrotophos. Batch studies were carried out using a 23 central composite factorial design of experiments, with initial pesticide concentration (1–15 mg/l), initial pH (3.5–10.5), and catalyst loading (2–6 g/l) as process variables. About 50–80% degradation was achieved depending on the levels of initial pesticide concentration, pH, and the amount of catalyst. A quadratic polynomial model was fitted to the experimental removal efficiency and the statistical analysis revealed that the coefficients for the main effects are significant. © 2016 Balaban Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.