The aim of the research was to evaluate the effect of combined treatments on fermentable sugar production from rapeseed straw. An optimum condition was found to be the combination of hydrothermal pretreatment at 180 degrees C for 45 min and post-treatment by 2% NaOH at 100 degrees C for 2 h, which was based on the quantity of monosaccharides released during enzymatic hydrolysis. As compared with the raw material without treatment, the combination of hydrothermal pretreatment and alkali post-treatment resulted in a significant increase of the saccharification rate by 5.9 times. This process potentially turned rapeseed straw into value added products in accordance with the biorefinery concept. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.