Gasification technology has been investigated to effectively and economically convert low-value and highly distributed solid biomass to a uniform gaseous mixture mainly including hydrogen (H-2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). This gaseous mixture can be further used as an industrial feedstock for heat and power generation, H2 production and synthesis of liquid fuels. Significant advances have been made in the technology of biomass gasification and syngas utilization. This review was conducted to introduce the recent advances in biomass gasification and syngas utilization. The critical technical issues and perspectives of biomass gasification were discussed. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.