Electroplating sludge (ES) is hazardous to human health or the environment when improperly treated, while it is a valuable resource due to its content of precious metals. In this study, copper was selectively leached out and electrodeposited from ES containing copper, iron and other metals. Copper was extracted from ES by a mixture solution of EDTA and citric acid. The leaching efficiency of copper was 85 % in 5 h under the conditions of 70 mM EDTA, 120:1 liquid–solid ratio and 10 mM citric acid. An amidoxime-functionalized porous carbon (Ami-PC) electrode material was utilized for the electrodeposition of a simulated leaching solution containing copper (750 ppm) and iron (250 ppm). The optimized electrodeposition conditions were voltage (6, 0) V, duty ratio 80 %, initial pH 3.23, and 4 h. Finally, leaching and electrodeposition were carried out synchronously, with the copper recovery efficiency reaching 82.21 %. The results show that electrodeposition while leaching has the advantage of less time cost. EDTA had the same leaching ability after three cycles. This study provides a new technical route for the efficient recovery of valuable metals from industrial waste residue.