Rice straw samples were exposed to ultrasound-assisted alkaline (NaOH) pretreatment by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication to increase their enzymatic digestibility for saccharification. The characterization shows that the pretreatment could selectively remove lignin and hemicellulose without degrading cellulose, and increase porosity and surface area of rice straw. The porosity, surface area and cellulose content of rice straw increased with the increasing concentration of NaOH used. The rice straw sample pretreated by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication has a higher surface area and a lower crystallinity index value than that pretreated by using the external source of heating, and the amount of reducing sugar released from the former sample at 48 h of enzymatic saccharification, which is about 3.5 times as large as that from the untreated rice straw sample (2.91 vs. 0.85 g L-1), is slightly larger than that from the latter sample (2.91 vs. 2.73 g L-1). The ultrasound-assisted alkaline pretreatment by using the heat energy dissipated from ultrasonication was proved to be a reliable and effective method for rice straw pretreatment. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.