In this study, crude and partially purified xylanase from Aureobasidium pullulans CCT 1261 were characterized and applied in beechwood xylan hydrolysis to obtain xylooligosaccharides (XOS). Fractional precipitation (0?30 %/30?60 %) with ammonium sulfate allowed partial purification of xylanases in 6.8-fold and recovery of 69.4 %. Both extracts exhibited optimum activity at 50 ?C and pH 4.5, and greater stability at 40 ?C within the studied range. The thermostability parameters (kd, t1/2, ?H*, ?G*, ?S*) of the extracts indicated the enzyme denaturation by the increment in temperature from 40 ?C to 60 ?C; its process was endothermic and led to protein unfolding in a more random structure. Crude xylanase showed a lower value of the Michaelis-Menten constant (25 mg/mL) than the partially purified enzyme (50 mg/mL). In hydrolysis reactions, total XOS contents (7.7 mg/ mL and 7.9 mg/mL) and XOS yields (25.7 % and 26.5 %) were equal statistically using the crude or partially purified extracts, differing only in the amount of xylose released. The hydrolysates were mainly composed of potential prebiotics, i.e., xylobiose (50.9 % and 53.8 %) and xylotriose (30.9 % and 32.8 %). Based on these results, the use of crude and partially purified xylanase from A. pullulans showed a promising perspective for xylan hydrolysis to produce XOS.