To investigate the changes of microbial communities and influence of Phanerochaete chrysosporium during solid-state fermentation (SSF) of rice straw, phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and lignocellulose components were measured with periodical sampling. The results showed that the lignocellulose degrading ratios in SSF which was inoculated by P. chrysosporium and soil microorganisms were higher than those degraded by culturing a single species. The total amount of PLFAs, as an indicator of microbial biomass, reached the peak on day 6. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the PLFA compositions revealed that A chrysosporium was well responsible for the succession of microbial community and showed that fungi were the predominant species at the end of the process. The correlation analysis between lignocellulose degrading ratio and PLFA profile in A chrysosporium suggested that P. chrysosporium promoted lignin degrading as the main fungi with gram-positive bacteria. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.