Different selections along the length of a shoot in fresh-cut bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla var pubescens) were used to study the changes of respiratory rate and the contents of total sugar, reducing sugar, total phenol, lignin, cellulose and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) during storage at 4 • C. Respiratory rate increased after mechanical stress resulted from cutting, but decreased gradually during storage. PAL activity and PPO activity were higher in the apical and middle sections than in the basal sections of bamboo shoot. The content of total sugar, reducing sugar, MDA, lignin and cellulose changed differently in the three sections during storage. Total sugar and reducing sugar in the basal and middle sections decreased initially, then increased. In the apical section, total sugar and reducing sugar also decreased initially, but remained low thereafter. MDA levels increased sharply after processing but decreased in the apical section after 4 days and remained at high levels in the middle and basal sections during storage. Cellulose and lignin decomposed more rapidly in the apical and middle sections than in the basal section. Lignin content increased in the basal section at the end of the storage. These results suggest that, while softening occurs in the apical and middle sections, lignification also takes place at the same time in the basal section.