Non-catalytic and catalytic rapid pyrolysis of corn stalks was studied in a tubular fixed-bed reactor. The optimum operating conditions giving the highest liquid yield was determined as pyrolysis temperature of 500 degrees C, sweeping gas flow rate of 400 cm(3) min(-1) and heating rate of 500 degrees C min(-1). In the catalytic process, rapid pyrolysis of stalks was performed at the optimum conditions with catalysts such as ZSM-5, HY and USY. The highest liquid yield from the catalytic pyrolysis was 27.55% with ZSM-5, while the oil from non-catalytic pyrolysis was 33.30%. In the last part, various spectroscopic and chromatographic methods were applied for characterization of bio-oils. Although catalytic pyrolysis converts the long chains of alkanes and alkenes of the oils into lower weight hydrocarbons, the obtained oil yields were lower than those of non-catalytic pyrolysis. USY catalyst gives the highest amount of aromatics among the catalysts used. Moreover, TG-DTA analyses were applied on raw materials to investigate thermal degradation of corn stalks and calculate the kinetic parameters. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.