This study explored the potential application effect of office paper waste in the bioremediation of soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through greenhouse experiments. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the response of soil microbial communities, while ¹⁴C isotope tracing used to elucidate bioremediation mechanisms. Results demonstrated that significant removal of PAHs observed in control under greenhouse conditions, with a 44.8% reduction in total PAHs concentration after three months incubation (P<0.05). Although ryegrass planting alone did not enhance total PAHs removal, it significantly removed 4-ring PAHs compared to natural attenuation (P<0.05). When combined with paper waste amendments, planting led to significant increase in PAHs removal (68.1%, P<0.05), primarily due to the degradation of 4-ring and 5-ring PAHs. Paper waste amendments significantly increased total potassium and phosphorus contents in the soil, and altered the composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities. The phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes in bacteria, along with Ascomycota in fungi, closely associated to the changes in soil nutrients and PAHs degradation, suggesting their potential roles in the remediation process. ¹⁴C-benz[a]anthracene-amended soil microcosms showed that paper waste did not significantly influence PAH fate, suggesting its role in enhancing plant-microbe synergistic remediation.