As the optimal source of astaxanthin, Haematococcus pluvialis was cultured for commercial production of astaxanthin through two continuous phases: cell growth and astaxanthin induction. In this study, the efficiency of an attached system for producing astaxanthin from H. pluvialis was investigated and compared to that of the suspended system (bubble column bioreactor) under various conditions. Results showed that this attached system is more suitable for photoinduction of H. pluvialis than the suspended bioreactor. Under the optimal conditions, the astaxanthin productivity of the attached system was 65.8 mg m(-2) d(-1) and 2.4-fold of that in the suspended system. This attached approach also offers other advantages over suspended systems, such as, producing astaxanthin under a wide range of light intensities and temperatures, saving water, ease to harvest cells, resisting contamination. Therefore, the attached approach can be considered an economical, environmentally friendly and highly-efficient technology for producing astaxanthin from H. pluvialis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.