The production of xylooligosaccharides (XOs) from corncobs was studied using a two-stage process based on a steam explosion pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. Corncobs with different chip sizes were subjected to steam explosion under different experimental conditions of temperature and time, namely 188-204 degrees C for 2.5-7.5 min. The results indicate that corncobs were optimally steam exploded at 196 degrees C for 5 min, resulting in hemicellulose recovery of 22.8%. Especially, corncobs with large chip sizes (similar to 100 mm) during steam explosion pretreatment were suitable to produce XOs. Furthermore, a thermostable xylanase from Paecilomyces themophila J18 was used to hydrolyze steam explosion liquor of corncobs (SELC) for the production of XOs. A maximum XOs yield of 28.6 g XOs/100 g xylan in corncobs was achieved and XOs syrup contained more than 90% of xylobiose and xylotriose when the hydrolysis was carried out under the optimized conditions (pH 7.0, 70 degrees C, 7.5 U mL(-1) and 2.5 h). These results suggest that the process might be effective in production of XOs for industrial applications. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.