Sugarcane bagasse (SB) is a potential feedstock for butanol production. However, biological production of butanol from SB is less economically viable. In this study, evaluation of eight pretreatments on SB showed that alkali pretreatment efficiently removed lignin from SB while retaining the intact native structure of the released microfibrils. In total, 99% of cellulose and 100% of hemicellulose in alkali-pretreated SB were hydrolysed by enzymes from Thermoascus aurantiacus. The hydrolysate was used to produce butanol in a fed-batch fermentation by Clostridium acetobutylicum. At 60 h, 14.17 and 21.11 g L (1) of butanol and acet one-butanol-ethanol (ABE) were produced from 68.89 g L (1) of total sugars, respectively, yielding 0.22 and 0.33 g g (1) of sugars. The maximum yield of butanol and ABE reached 15.4 g and 22.9 g per 100 g raw SB, respectively. This established process may have potential application for butanol production from SB. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.