The xylan-rich hemicellulose components of sugarcane bagasse were sequentially extracted with pressurized hot-water extraction (PHWE) and alkaline peroxide. The hemicelluloses were found to contain mainly arabinoxylans with varying substitutions confirmed by different chemical and spectroscopic methods. The arabinoxylans obtained from PHWE were found to be more branched compared to those obtained after alkaline extraction. Sequential extraction could be useful for the isolation of hemicelluloses with different degree of branching, molar mass, and functional groups from sugarcane bagasse, which can be of high potential use for various industrial applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.