Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) are one of the most common groups of persistent organic contaminants. Plant-based remediation is a relatively new, efficient and environmentally friendly technology that can be promising for removing many contaminants like hydrocarbon pollutants. The main objectives of the current research were to investigate the phytoremediation efficiency of burningbush, flax, and tall fescue as well as the influence of petroleum hydrocarbons on growth characteristics of these plant species. In order to improve soil condition and study the effect of fertilization on plant growth in oil-contaminated soil, peat fertilizer was applied in a separate treatment. Unfertilized as well as fertilized soil samples were analyzed for TPH removal by GC-FID in different time intervals. All plant species showed promising growth behaviour in highly contaminated soil. A decrease of TPHs was found over the course of the experiment in all treatments. The maximum removal was obtained in flax, in which flax removed 97.9% of the initial TPHs from soil. Results demonstrated that the three studied plant species were effective and promising in removing TPHs from contaminated, aged soil.