This study evaluated the Pleurotus spp. mushroom production process using an effluent from the maize agroindustrial process as a carbon and nitrogen source and as a wetting agent. A complete experimental design based on factorial planning was used to optimize the biological efficiency and evaluate the effect of the concentration of effluent, pH and species of Pleurotus. The results indicated that the effluent affects the biological efficiency for the production of both species of mushrooms at all pH values studied. The maximum biological efficiency predicted by the model (81.36%) corresponded to the point defined by the effluent contents (X-1=1). pH (X-2=-1) and fungus species (X-3=1), specifically 50%, 5.0 and P. floridae, respectively. The results demonstrated that the effluent is a good alternative for the production of Pleurotus mushrooms. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.