To further improve surface characteristics of bio-derived compact bone scaffolds (BDCBS), 20% surface demineralization in a controlled manner was applied to the scaffolds. The surface configuration properties and roughness of the partially demineralized BDCBS and non-demineralized BDCBS (n = 12 in each group) were investigated with SEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) in this study. The result demonstrated that the surface configuration of partially demineralized BDCBS exhibited specific porous micro-structure when compared to the compact structure of non-demineralized BDCBS. Furthermore, the result showed that the surface roughness of the partially demineralized BDCBS was significantly higher than that of BDCBS (P < 0.01). These results revealed that the partial demineralization could improve the surface configuration characteristics of BDCBS. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.