Due to issues relating to the sustainability of biofuel production, second generation biofuel has attracted much attention. As a promising feedstock of second generation biodiesel, Jatropha curcas L. (JCL) is being massively planted on marginal land in China, but its viability as a biofuel source has not been systematically assessed. This paper performed a lifecycle assessment of the economic, environmental and energy (3E) performance of the JCL biodiesel, assuming JCL oil is either used for direct blending with diesel or further processed into JCL methyl ester (JME). The results show that, at the current technical levels, the production of JCL biodiesel is financially infeasible, but has positive environmental and energy performance. Despite the additional cost incurred in the transesterification process, the net present value of JME is slightly higher than that of JCL oil when a part of the cost is allocated to the co-product, i.e., glycerin. As compared with that of diesel, the production and consumption of per liter JCL oil and JME can reduce 7.34 kg and 8.04 kg CO2 equivalent, respectively. The energy balances of both JCL oil and JME are 1.57 and 1.47, respectively, in terms of the ratio of the heat value of biodiesel and that of energy input. The main factors affecting the 3E performance of JCL biodiesel are seed yield, co-product output, and farm energy input. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.