Resources shortage, energy deficiency and environmental pollution have been hindering the sustainable development of the society. As “the third wave” in the course of the development of biological technology, industrial biotechnology has become an effective way to solve the problems of resources, energy and environment with which mankind is confronted. It is also one of the most promising technologies indispensable to the sustainable development of the industry. In this special issue of “Industrial Biotechnology”, selected papers from China Summit Forum on Industrial Biotechnology Development · 2008 were published, hoping to promote the academic exchanges and development of China’s industrial biotechnology. The papers focused on the researches in the fields of “Biorefinery process and biobased products”, “Microbial genomics and bioinformatics”, “Metabolic engineering and development of antibiotics”, “Industrial enzyme technology”, “Microbial cell factories and biorefinery”, “Biocatalysis and biotransformation”, “Bioprocess technology”, and “Industrial strain breeding and improvement”.