Cornstalk was depolymerized in supercritical methanol and ethanol, respectively. The depolymerization products were analyzed with FTIR and GC/MS. The results show that the products can be classified into methyl esters and dimethyl diesters, ethyl esters and diethyl phthalate, hydroxybenzenes and dihydroxybenzenes, ketones, methoxybenzene to trimethyoxybenzenes, hydrocarbons, nitrogen-containing organic compounds and other compounds. Most of the products are oxygen-containing species. Palmitate and octadec-9-enoate are the two most abundant products both with supercritical methanol and with supercritical ethanol. The fact that the cornstalk depolymerization in different solvents afforded many different products suggests that the two solvents played different roles in the cornstalk depolymerization. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.