Enzymes are among the most important products obtained for human needs through microbial sources. A large number of industrial processes in the areas of industrial, environmental and food biotechnology utilize enzymes at some stage or the other. Current developments in biotechnology are yielding new applications for enzymes. Solid state fermentation (SSF) holds tremendous potential for the production of enzymes. It can be of special interest in those processes where the crude fermented products may be used directly as enzyme sources. This review focuses on the production of various industrial enzymes by SSF processes. Following a brief discussion of the micro-organisms and the substrates used in SSF systems, and aspects of the design of fermenter and the factors affecting production of enzymes, an illustrative survey is presented on various individual groups of enzymes such as cellulolytic, pectinolytic, ligninolytic, amylolytic and lipolytic enzymes, etc. Solid state fermentation (SSF) holds tremendous potential for the production of enzymes. It can be of special interest in those processes where the crude fermented product may be used directly as the enzyme source1. In addition to the conventional applications in food and fermentation industries, microbial enzymes have attained significant role in biotransformations involving organic solvent media, mainly for bioactive compounds. Table 1 lists some of the possible applications of the enzymes produced in SSF systems. This system offers numerous advantages over submerged fermentation (SmF) system, including high volumetric productivity, relatively higher concentration of the products, less effluent generation, requirement for simple fermentation equipments, etc.

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