Pre-aeration is effective on regulating subsequent anaerobic degradation of municipal solid waste (MSW) with high organic fractions during landfilling. The strength of pre-aeration should be optimized to intentionally remove some easily biodegradable fractions while conserve bio-methane potential as much as possible. This study investigates the evolution of organic components in MSW during 2-14 days pre-aeration process and its impacts on subsequent anaerobic degradation in simulated landfill bioreactors. Results showed that a 6-day pre-aeration enabled to develop a thermophilic stage, which significantly accelerated biodegradation of organics except lignocelluloses, with removal rates of 42.8%, 76.7% and 25.1% for proteins, carbohydrates and lipids, respectively. Particularly, ammonia from accelerated ammonification in the thermophilic stage neutralized VFAs generated from anaerobic landfilling. As a result, the MSW with 6-day pre-aeration obtained the highest methane yield 123.4 NL/kg dry matter. Therefore, it is recommended to interrupt pre-aeration before its cooling stage to switch to anaerobic landfilling. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.