As a developing country with the largest population, China faces a serious challenge in satisfying its continuously increasing energy demand, especially for liquid fuel. Bioethanol production from lignocellulosic material is a potential and feasible method to solve the many problems in China, and it was supported by the Chinese government. Many research projects in China on lignocellulosics ethanol production have been carried out. After more than 30 years of research, several pilot scale facilities have been constructed. This review focuses on the recent research activities and developments in lignocellulosic ethanol production during the past decade in China. As case study, a corncob biorefinery process is introduced. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.