The catalytic cracking reactions of several kinds of woody oils have been studied. The products were analyzed by GC-MS and FTIR and show the formation of olefins, paraffins and carboxylic acids. Several kinds of catalysts were compared. It was found that the fraction distribution of product was modified by using base catalysts such as CaO. The products from woody oils showed good cold flow properties compared with diesel used in China. The results presented in this work have shown that the catalytic cracking of woody oils generates fuels that have physical and chemical properties comparable to those specified for petroleum based fuels. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.