This paper presents results on the features of bagasse pretreatment with peroxide and acetic acid (peroxide-HAc) aiming at selective removal of lignin to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis. Surface response methodology was employed to study the effects of major process parameters on delignification and to establish a model for the prediction of lignin removal in the process. Enzymatic hydrolysis following the pretreatment was conducted to evaluate the enhancement of biohydrolysis by the pretreatment. Results revealed that peroxide-HAc pretreatment of bagasse retained most of the carbohydrate constituents, although the delignification rate was low. Peroxide-HAc concentration, temperature, and time demonstrated significant effects on bagasse lignin removal. The relationship between lignin removal and the process parameters could be well described by a mathematical model derived from the experimental data. After treatment with 69.1% peroxide-HAc at 80 degrees C for 26.5 h, 97.08% of lignin could be removed while keeping 68.24% hemicelluloses intact. Over 93.58% of carbohydrate in treated bagasse could be hydrolyzed with exoglucanase in a dosage of 138 FPU/g carbohydrates at 35 degrees C within 48 h. It was thus demonstrated that treated bagasse has a much higher response toward enzymatic hydrolysis than its untreated counterpart.