Thermochemical liquefaction characteristics of sawdust were explored with ethanol as solvent and [BMIM]Cl-NiCl 2 as catalyst. The influences of liquefaction parameters including reaction temperature, residence time and hydrogen initial pressure on the sawdust conversion and products distribution were studied. The maximum bio-oil yield of 75.45 % and conversion of 86.01 % were obtained in ethanol at 320°C and 30 min under 10 MPa hydrogen pressure. The chemical composition of bio-oil and gaseous products derived from optimized conditions was analyzed via GC-MS and GC. These results showed that the dominant compounds of light oil were carboxylic acid, esters and phenol and its derivatives. In addition, the gaseous components consisted of CO 2 , CO, methane, ethane and ethene.