Bamboo is a fast-growing renewable biomass that is widely distributed in Asia. Although bamboo is recognised as a useful resource, its utilization is limited and further development is required. Immature bamboo shoots harvested before branch spread were found to be a good biomass resource to achieve a high saccharification yield. The saccharification yield of the shoots increased (up to 98% for immature Phyllostachys bambusoides) when xylanase was used in addition to cellulase. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) processing converted immature shoots of P. bambusoides and Phyllostachys pubescens to ethanol with an ethanol yield of 169 and 139 g kg(-1), respectively (98% and 81%, respectively, of the theoretical yields based on hexose conversion) when 12 FPU g(-1) enzyme and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.