Background Plants with high biomass can be manipulated for their reducing sugar content which ultimately upon fermentation produces ethanol. This concept was used to enhance the production of reducing sugar from cattail ( Typha latifolia ) by oxalic acid (OAA) pre-treatment followed by enzymatic saccharification. Result The optimum condition of total reducing sugar released from OAA pre-treatment was found to be 22.32 mg/ml (OAA—1.2%; substrate concentration (SC)—6%; reaction time (RT)—20 min) using one variable at a time (OVAT). Enzymatic saccharification yielded 45.21 mg/ml of reducing sugar (substrate concentration (SC)—2.4%; enzymatic dosage—50 IU/g; pH 7.0; temp—50 °C) using response surface methodology (RSM). Conclusion We conclude that Typha can be used as a potential substrate for large-scale biofuel production, employing economical bioprocessing strategies.