A new technology of transforming ferulic acid, which was from waste residue of rice bran oil, into vanillin was developed by a combination of fungal strains Aspergillus niger CGMCC0774 and Pycnoporus cinnabarinus CGMCC1115. Various concentrations of ferulic acid were compared, and the highest yield reached 2.2 g l(-1) of vanillic acid by A. niger CGMCC0774 in a 251 fermenter when concentration of ferulic acid was 4 g l(-1). The filtrate of A. niger CGMCC0774 culture was concentrated and vanillic acid in the filtrate was bioconverted into vanillin by P. cinnabarinus CGMCC1115. The yield of vanillin reached 2.8 g l(-1) when 5 g l(-1) of glucose and 25 g of HZ802 resin were supplemented in the bioconversion medium. The C-13 isotope analysis indicated that delta C-13(PDB) of vanillin prepared was much different from chemically synthesized vanillin. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.