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• Global softness of the NHCs was employed to correlate with the ozonation efficiency. • Higher global softness of NHCs resulted in a greater degradation efficiency. • Fewer N atoms in heterocyclic ring generated more OH from ozone dissociation. • Reactive sites for both O 3 and radical attack were located by FO theory. • Combined DFT and TOF-MS results were used to identify the hydroxylation products. Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic contaminants (NHCs) have aroused intense environmental issues in waterbody because of their high toxicity and strong recalcitrance against natural degradation. In this study, ozonation degradation on four typical NHCs - benzotriazole (BTA), benzimidazole (BMZ), indazole (IDZ), and indole (IDO) was carried out to investigate the effects of N atoms on degradation efficiency. Global softness of the NHCs was calculated by density functional theory (DFT) and correlated with ozonation efficiency. It was discovered that higher global softness of the NHCs resulted in the greater degradation efficiency. Mineralization results together with the quenching tests results suggested that NHCs with ortho-positioned N atoms in heterocyclic ring are easier to be mineralized, while the presence of para-positioned N atoms increased the recalcitrance for destruction. Apart from hydroxyl radicals, superoxide radicals and singlet oxygens were also identified by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra. Condensed Fukui index was employed to probe the potential active sites for both direct ozone oxidation and radical-based attack. Single point energies were further calculated among these active sites to seek the initial-stage hydroxylation intermediates. Combined the calculation results with the identified intermediates from time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (TOF-MS), degradation routes of the NHCs were proposed. This study discovered structure-dependent behavior of NHCs on ozonation efficiency and envisaged a more accurate strategy for establishing the degradation pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]