The endogenous process is an important metabolic part of the activated sludge, and the understanding of this process is still unclear. Characteristics of endogenous respiration for heterotrophic bacteria and autotrophic nitrifiers were analyzed using respirogram. Results showed that both heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria entered the stage of endogenous respiration at almost the same time, but heterotrophic bacteria first entered the stage of dormancy i. e. , they were easier to recover a higher proportion of biomass during the dormancy stage, indicating that heterotrophic bacteria exhibited strong environmental adaptability. Autotrophic bacteria were, however, quite different. This finding confirmed that autotrophic bacteria were more vulnerable from the viewpoint of endogenous respiration. In addition, the study also found that the increase of endogenous respiration rate ratio reflected the decreased sludge activity. And the proportion of endogenous respiration was an important parameter to characterize the activity of activated sludge, which can be used as a quantitative index for the health status of activated sludge. The findings further deepened the understanding of endogenous respiration process and provided a theoretical basis for the operation and management of wastewater treatment plants.