Experiments were performed in an entrained-flow reactor to better understand the processes involved in biomass air gasification. Effects of the reaction temperatures (700 degrees C, 800 degrees C, 900 degrees C and 1000 degrees C), residence time and the equivalence ratio in the range of 0.22-0.34 on the gasification process were investigated. The behavior of biomass gasification was discussed in terms of composition of produced gas. Four parameters, i.e. the low heating value, fuel gas production, carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency were used to evaluate the gasification. The results show that CO, CO2 and H-2 are the main gasification products, while hydrocarbons (CH4 and C2H4) are the minor ones. With the increase of the reaction temperature, the concentration of CO decreases, while the concentrations of CO2 and H-2 increase. The concentrations of CH4 and C2H4 reach their maximum value when the reaction temperature is 800 C. The optimal reaction temperature is considered to be 800 degrees C and the optimal equivalence ratio is 0.28 in that the low heating value of the produced gas, carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency achieve their maximum values. The kinetic parameters of sawdust air gasification are calculated basing on the Arrhenius correlation. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.