Thermophilic hydrogen production from xylan by Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum KKU-ED1 isolated from elephant dung was investigated using batch fermentation. The optimum conditions for hydrogen production from xylan by the strain KKU-ED1 were an initial pH of 7.0, temperature of 55 degrees C and xylan concentration of 15 g/L. Under the optimum conditions, the hydrogen yield (HY), hydrogen production rate (HPR) and xylanase activity were 120.05 +/- 15.07 mL H-2/g xylan, 11.53 +/- 0.19 mL H-2/L h and 0.41 units/mL, respectively. The optimum conditions were then used to produce hydrogen from 62.5 g/L sugarcane bagasse (SCB) (equivalent to 15 g/L xylan) in which the HY and HPR of 1.39 +/- 0.10 mL H-2/g SCB (5.77 +/- 0.41 mL H-2/g xylan) and 0.66 +/- 0.04 mL H-2/L h, respectively, were achieved. In comparison to the other strains, the HY of the strain KKU-ED1 (120.05 15.07 mL H-2/g xylan) was close to that of Clostridium sp. strain X53 (125.40 mL H-2/g xylan) and Clostridium butyricum CGS5 (90.70 mL H-2/g xylan hydrolysate). Copyright (C) 2013, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.