biomass, a renewable, sustainable and carbon dioxide neutral resource, has received widespread attention in the energy market as an alternative to fossil fuels. thermal-chemical conversion of biomass to produce biofuels is a promising technology with many commercial applications. this paper reviewed the state-of-the-art research and development of thermal-chemical conversion of biomass in china with a special focus on gasification, pyrolysis, and catalytic transformation technologies. the advantages and disadvantages, potential of future applications, and challenges related to these technologies are discussed. conclusively, these transformation technologies for the second-generation biofuels with using non-edible lignocellulosic biomass as feedstocks show prosperous perspective for commercial applications in near future. (c) 2012 elsevier inc. all rights reserved.