Continuous ethanol production without effluence of wastewater was carried oat using a closed circulation system which integrated a cell retention culture system and a distillation system to separate ethanol. The stirred ceramic membrane reactor (SCMR), a jar fermenter fitted with asymmetric porous alumina ceramic membrane rods, was used for retaining high density of cells and extraction of the culture supernatant that was continuously sent to the distiller to evaporate ethanol. After the distillation process, the residual solation of the culture supernatant was returned to the SCMR via a heat exchanger. Two types of strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae; a flocculating IR2 strain and a sake-brewing K901 strain, were cultured using the integrated fermentation system for continuous production of ethanol, When the ethanol concentration reached 60 g/l, the culture supernatant was extracted by filtration from the SCMR and sent to the distiller. During the repeated ethanol fermentation and recycling of the medium, cell concentration of K901 strain was increased to 236 g/l and the productivity of ethanol reached 13.1 g.l(-1).h(-1), which was higher than the productivity of 12.5 g.l(-1).h(-1) achieved by immobilized cells on calcium alginate beads (CAB). In addition, the productivity was further increased to 14.5 g.l(-1).h(-1) by immobilized K901 cells on CAB retained in the SCMR. In contrast, the flocculating IR2 strain was found to accumulate into crusts of cells on the surface of the ceramic filter and thereby the productivity of ethanol considerably decreased because of the reduced filtration performance. These results showed that the long-lasting and high filtration performance was essential for the increase in the productivity of ethanol using the integrated system that consisted of the SCMR and the distiller.