Furfuralcohol (FOL) is an important intermediate for the production of lysine, ascorbic acid, and lubricants. It can be used as a hypergolic fuel in rocketry. In this study, it was attempted to synthesize FOL from xylose by tandem catalysis with solid acid SO42 /SnO2-Montmorillonite and recombination Escherichia coli CCZU-K14 whole cells. Using SO42 /SnO2-Montmorillonite (3.0 wt% dosage) as catalyst, a highest furfural yield of 41.9% was achieved from xylose at 170 degrees C for 20 min. Furthermore, Escherichia coli CCZU-K14 whole cells were used for bioconverting furfural to FOL. The optimum biocatalytic reaction temperature, reaction pH, cosubstrate concentration, and substrate concentration were 30 degrees C, 6.5, 1.5 mol glucose/mol furfural, and 200 mM, respectively. Finally, the yield of FOL from 200 mM furfural was achieved to 100% by Escherichia coli CCZU-K14 whole cells after 24 h. In conclusion, this strategy show high potential application for the effective synthesis of FOL. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.