Growth and lipid production performance of Scenedesmus sp. under different culture modes were investigated. Under heterotrophic aerobic mode, algal biomass concentration and total lipid content reached 3.42 g L-1 and 43.0 wt.%, which were much higher than those in autotrophic aerobic mode (0.55 g L-1/20.2 wt.%). The applied light exposure of 7.0Wm(-2) was beneficial to biomass and lipid accumulation. Mixotrophic aerobic mode produced the highest biomass concentration of 3.84 g L-1. The biomass was rich in lipids (51.3 wt.%) and low in proteins (17.9 wt.%) and carbohydrates (10.3 wt.%). However, lower algal biomass concentration (2.93 g L-1) and total lipid content (36.1 wt.%) were obtained in mixotrophic anaerobic mode. Mixotrophic aerobic mode gave the maximum heat value conversion efficiency of 45.7%. These results indicate that mixotrophic aerobic cultivation was a promising culture mode for lipid production by Scenedesmus sp. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.