Despite the extensive literature on the effects of implementing aeration in the electrocoagulation (EC) treatment of industrial wastewater, few studies evaluate the performance of this technique at high aeration rates. In this work, we present the outcomes derived from EC treatment of pharmaceutical and synthetic textile wastewater effluents in two lab-scale reactors with and without aeration, each equipped with different electrode combinations of aluminium and iron (Al/Al, Al/Fe, and Fe/Fe). In the non-aerated EC reactor, maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) reductions of 56% and 80% were achieved for the pharmaceutical and textile effluents, respectively, with up to 100% removal of turbidity and colour with the Al/Al combination. The installation of high-rate aeration to prevent sludge accumulation on the electrode surface markedly reduced residence times and enhanced the COD removal in the pharmaceutical effluent. However, this implementation potentially reduced the process efficiency for thesynthetic textile effluent as prolonged operation led to flocculation breakdown and subsequent re-dissolution of the contaminants in the water.