Complexation of tetracyclines (TCs) with dissolved Mn-II and Cull ions were found to significantly enhance the transformation of these antibiotics in the presence of oxygen at pH 8-9.5 and pH 4-6, respectively. In the TC-Mn-II-O-2 system, oxidation of the TC-complexed Mn-II to Mn-III by oxygen occurs, followed by oxidation of TC by Mn-III to regenerate Mn-II. In the TC-CU"-02 system, Cu-II oxidizes TC within the complex and the yielded Cu-I is reoxidized by the present oxygen. Opposite reactivity trends were observed with the two metals: OTC (oxytetracycline) > TTC (tetracycline) >> iso-CTC (isochlorotetracycline) for the Mn-II-mediated reaction, whereas CTC > TTC > OTC > epimers for the Cu-II-mediated reaction. The reactivity results and examination of TC-metal ion complexation and transformation products suggest that the BCD-ring and A-ring of TC are crucial to interactwith Mn-II and Cu-II, respectively. This study highlights that the fate of TCs in aquatic environments may differ significantly by their strong interactions with different metal species present in the systems.