The steam gasification of sawdust was carried out in a bench scale plant fitted with a fountain confined conical spouted bed reactor and a nonporous draft tube, and using olivine as primary catalyst. The effect temperature (in the 800-900 degrees C range) had on product distribution (gas, tar and char) and composition was studied. Not only did temperature have a positive effect on the gas yield and carbon conversion, but it also played a crucial role in tar removal, as its concentration fell from 49.2 g NM-3 (on a dry basis) at 800 degrees C to 6.7 g Nm(-3) operating at 900 degrees C. Moreover, temperature also enhanced the hydrogen yield of the gas, recording a value of 7.28 wt% at 900 degrees C. Regarding tar formation and its evolution pathway, as gasification temperature was increased the tar composition (analyzed by GC/MS, FTIR and simulated distillation techniques) evolved to more stable aromatic compounds (of higher molecular weight), such as naphthalene or fluoranthene, with heterocyclic or light aromatic compounds being almost absent at 900 degrees C.