White-rot fungal strains of Trametes versicolor and Phanerochaete chrysosporium were selected to study the decolourisation of the textile dye, Reactive Black 5, under alkaline-saline conditions. Free and immobilised T. versicolor cells showed 100 % decolourisation in the growth medium supplemented with 15 g l(-1) NaCl, pH 9.5 at 30 A degrees C in liquid batch culture. Continuous culture experiments were performed in a fixed-bed reactor using free and immobilised T. versicolor cells and allowed 85-100 % dye decolourisation. The immobilisation conditions for the biomass and the additional supply of carbon sources improved the decolourisation performance during a long-term trial of 40 days. Lignin peroxidase, laccase and glyoxal oxidase activities were detected during the experiments. The laccase activity varied depending on carbon source utilized and glycerol-enhanced laccase activity compared to sucrose during extended growth.