Cellulosic ethanol production has gained in great interest over the years. The acid hydrolysis of lignocellulose releases sugars, but also contains different concentrations of inhibitors that seriously affect the follow-up fermentation process. The inhibitory effects of these by-products on ethanol fermentation of xylose were studied. The growth curve of yeast and ethanol production rate summarizes the influence of lignocellulose hydrolyzate inhibitor on xylose fermentation. The result showed that the lignocellulose hydrolyzate inhibitor contributed to the decrease of growth rate and affected the xylose fermentation of strains. But the strain after domestication showed stronger anti-inhibitor capability.