[Preface for special issue on industrial biotechnology. Preface].

Industrial biotechnology, which employs microorganisms or enzymes to produce industrial useful products, has been considered as a promising solution for the sustainable development of society and economy. This special issue collects some recent research progresses on industrial biotechnology in China, including research articles in the field of genetic engineering, metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, physiological engineering, fermentation engineering and biochemical engineering, biocatalysis and biotransformation, as well as new biotechniques and methods.