Five metal oxides, Fe2O3, CuO, NiO, ZnO, and MgO, were investigated as catalysts to improve lignin removal and reduce sugar degradation during corn stover pretreatment. Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment was used as control. Among the five metal oxides, MgO was the most suitable for biomass pretreatmen. The optimal pretreatment condition was the solid/liquid ratio of 1/10 with 0.10 mol/L MgO at 190 degrees C for 40 min. The fermentable xylose (85%) and glucose (97%) from MgO pretreatment were equivalent to those (89 and 95%) from LHW pretreatment, and lignin removal was 1.5-fold more than that from LHW pretreatment. The pH of the resulting biomass slurry was close to 7.0 and without furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural formation. Thus, the water-washing step for inhibitor removal can be omitted. The biomass liquor can be used directly for downstream hydrolysis and fermentation. Acid-resistant equipment is not required due to the absence of acids.