This objective of this study was to investigate the degradation characteristics of phenol, a refractory substance, by using a submerged dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor. To indirectly determine the concentration of active species produced in the DBD plasma, the dissolved ozone was measured. To investigate the phenol degradation characteristics, the phenol and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations were evaluated based on pH and the discharge power. The dissolved ozone was measured based on the air flow rate and power discharged. The highest dissolved ozone concentration was recorded when the injected air flow rate was 5 L/min. At a discharge power of 40W as compared to 70W, the dissolved ozone was approximately 2.7 – 6.5 times higher. In regards to phenol degradation, the final degradation rate was highest at about 74.06%, when the initial pH was 10. At a discharged power of 40W, the rate of phenol decomposition was observed to be approximately 1.25 times higher compared to when the discharged power was 70W. It was established that the phenol degradation reaction was a primary reaction, and when the discharge power was 40W as opposed to 70W, the reaction rate constant(k) was approximately 1.72 times higher.