The invention relates to a method for the treatment of heavy metal wastewater by utilizing a superconducting HGMS (high gradient magnetic separation)-activated carbon coupled process and belongs to the field of resources and environments. Results show that the optimal process parameters of the adopted superconducting HGMS-activated carbon coupled process are as follows: the dosage range of negative activated carbon is 0.1-0.9g/ml, the gradient range of a magnetic field is 3-5T, the standing time is 1-15min, the ratio of the diameter d of a reaction tank to the distance from a magnetic field generator to the wall of the reaction tank is not more than 5, 3678.47mg/L of arsenic in the high-concentration arsenic-containing wastewater is removed, and the removal rate of arsenic ions in the wastewater achieves above 74.65%. The operation method is as follows: dosing an appropriate amount of activated carbon into the heavy metal wastewater, then uniformly stirring, injecting the wastewater into the reaction tank placed into the superconducting high-gradient magnetic field and standing for a period of time. Pretreatment is not required before treatment, and the pH value of the wastewater is not regulated. The saturation adsorption amount of the activated carbon under the conditions of the superconducting HGMS-activated carbon coupled process is 6-8mg/g (the amount of the arsenic ions adsorbed by 1g of the activated carbon) and the parameters of the process can be properly adjusted according to concentration characteristic of the arsenic ions contained in the wastewater.