Spirit-based distillers' grain (SDG) is the main by-product of the Chinese liquor industry, with an annual output of approx. 100 million tons. The economical potential of fermentative production of succinic acid from SDG was investigated using Actinobacillus succinogens. Use of pretreated SDG (PSDG) as the sole source of C and N yielded succinic acid at 35.5 g l(-1) with a yield of 19.7 % (g per 100 g PSDG) after 48 h in a 3 l stirred bioreactor. SDG is thus a promising feedstock for the economical production of succinic acid.