The pyrolysis of bio-oil is important in improving the utilization of biomass energy and the environmental protection. In this study, simulations were conducted in the Aspen Plus environment using the Gibbs reactor to simulate the equilibrium compositions of the bio-oil pyrolysis products at different temperatures. The molar heat capacity at constant pressure of the chemical balance system was calculated through simulation. The thermodynamic parameters of the reactor were determined using the thermodynamic equations and the mass balance principle. Furthermore, the temperature distribution and conversion rate of different catalyst beds were calculated by combining the Runge-Kutta method with the Matlab software. Finally, experiments were performed in a fixed bed reactor, and the experimental results were compared with the simulated results. The calculation result of the established model is in good agreement with the experimental results. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.