The thermal pyrolysis of Mahua seed (Madhuca indica) has been carried out in the present study to verify its potentiality for biofuel production. Pyrolysis was conducted in a semi-batch reactor at various temperatures from 450 to 600 degrees C under 30 mL/min nitrogen flow rate and at 20 degrees C/min constant heating rate. At an optimum temperature of 525 degrees C, the maximum bio-oil yield of 49% was obtained along with 18% of bio-char. Both the products were further physically and chemically characterized, and their results demonstrated their efficiency and potentiality as beneficial energy resources. The chemical characterizations through FTIR, H-1 NMR, and GC-MS showed that the bio-oil consisted of significant number of aliphatic compounds than aromatics. The obtained calorific value of bio-oil was found to be 39.02 MJ/kg which is closer to the calorific values of the conventional petroleum fuels. Moreover, the morphological characteristics of bio-char was carried out using SEM and BET analysis which revealed their macroporous surface with a low surface area of 13.2 m(2)/g. Bio-char had calorific value of 26.053 MJ/kg which is more than that of fossil fuel coal. Such favorable outcomes endorse the Mahua seed biofuel as a promising candidate to be used as hydrocarbon fuel and chemical feed stock. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.