In this study, the biomass production and pollutant removal from high-strength glutamate fermentation wastewater (GFW) using yeast isolates was investigated. Following enrichment culture, two species of yeasts, Candida halophila and Rhodotorula glutinis, were isolated from raw GFW with chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia-nitrogen levels of 40 and 16 g 1(-1), respectively. The binary mixed yeast culture was cultivated batchwise in 2.5-fold diluted GFW from which 85% of COD and 96% of reducing sugar were removed. The resulting yeast biomass contained 56% crude protein, 36.0% carbohydrate and 0.4% crude lipid. The amino acid composition of mixed yeast cells was balanced and was comparable with that of C utilis and soybean. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.