By co-fermented with sweetpotato vines hydrolysate (SVH), glycerol can be used as an effective substrate for Trichosporon fermentans to produce lipids. Submerged fermentation results showed that T. fermentans exhibited a maximum lipid yield of 7.45 g l(-1) with a biomass of 17.95 g l(-1) on 10% SVH added glycerol mineral medium (Glycerol MM-10% SVH), which was 4.34-fold higher than that on glycerol mineral medium. Lipids produced on glycerol based media exhibited a significantly different fatty acid composition profile from that produced on sugar based media accompanying by a sharp increase in polyunsaturated fatty acids content. Biochemical behaviors characterization further demonstrated that SVH has a remarkable promoting effect on the biomass formation and glycerol uptake. The extremely high lipid yield on Glycerol MM-10% SVH was mainly attributed to the enhancement of SVH on biomass, although SVH is an excellent nutrient supplier for lipid accumulation due to its low nitrogen availability. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.