Chinese rice straw and sawdust were pyrolyzed at an atmospheric pressure fixed bed reactor The final product distribution of the pyrolysis process and gas composition are presented here. The particular attention of pyrolysis investigation is paid to the effect of catalysts on the pyrolytic gas yield. Several types of catalysts have been investigated in our test-rig, and moreover the influence of the catalyst load on the pyrolytic gas yield has also been investigated. The results show that catalysts, particularly chromium oxide, have a strong positive influence on the pyrolytic gas, while CuO even inhibits the pyrolytic gas yield.