Thirty different yeast strains belonging to four different genera (Candida, Debaryomyces, Hansenula and Pichia) were evaluated for xylitol production in rice straw hemicellulose hydrolysate under two aeration levels. Candida guillier-mondii FTI-20037, C. mogii NRRL Y-17032, C. parapsilosis IZ-1710 and C. veronae IZ-945 produced xylitol from rice straw hemicellulose hydrolysate with high yields (>60%). The best performance was by C. mogii, which yielded 0.65 g xylitol/g at 0.40 g/l.h over 75 h.