Current studies about lipase production by solid-state fermentation involve the use of agro-industrial residues towards developing cost-effective systems directed to large-scale commercialization of enzyme-catalyzed processes. In this work, lipase production and partial characterization of the crude enzymatic extracts obtained by Penicillium verrucosum using soybean bran as substrate was investigated. Different inductors were evaluated and the results showed that there is no influence of this variable on the lipase production, while temperature and initial moisture were the main factors that affected enzyme production. The optimized cultivation temperature (27.5 degrees C) and initial moisture of substrate (55%) were determined using the response surface methodology. Kinetics of lipase production was followed at the optimized growth conditions. Optimum lipase yield was 40 U/g of dry bran. The crude enzymatic extract showed optimal activity in the range from 30 to 45 degrees C and in pH 7.0.