Barley straw was found to be suitable raw material for ethanol production. Straw could be easily pre-treated with steam explosion, hydrolysed to monosaccharides and fermented to ethanol. The optimum harvesting times for bio-ethanol raw material are at grain maturity for barley straw. Potential raw material, barley harvested at full ear emergence, when straw is rich in soluble sugars, need further research