In this work, the Fenton preoxidation and composite coagulant method was used to carry out the rapid dewatering experiment of Chaohu Lake (China) dredging slurry. The changes in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), particle size distribution, zeta potential, specific resistance to filtration (SRF), and capillary suction time (CST) of the dredging slurry were characterized. The results showed that the molar ratio of H2O2 and Fe2+ had the greatest effect on the dewatering of dredging slurry by Fenton preoxidation. The coagulant selected through the coagulation test was polyaluminum ferric chloride. The model simulated by the response surface method exhibited significant adaptability and high accuracy (p < 0.01, R2 = 0.9461, accuracy is 12.115). Fenton preoxidation resulted in the transformation of tightly bound EPS to soluble EPS. After preoxidation-coagulation treatment, the dewatering performance of the slurry improved significantly. The EPS quantity rose by 20.3%, while the SRF (3.65 × 109 s2/g), CST (71.25s), and zeta potential (- 28.0mV) shifted to 0.33 × 109 s2/g, 27.60s, and - 14.9mV, respectively. The disintegration of EPS by Fenton peroxidation and the subsequent adsorption bridging and charge neutralization through coagulation were the key mechanism for improving the dewatering performance of the dredging slurry.