Hypocrellin A production by Shiraia sp. SUPER-H168 was studied under solid-state fermentation. Corn was found to be the best substrate after evaluating eight kinds of agro-industrial crops and residues. The optimized solid-state fermentation conditions were as follows: inoculum size 3 x 10(6) spores, substrate particle size 0.8-1 mm, initial moisture content 50%, and temperature 30 degrees C. Six kinds of external carbon source and seven kinds of external nitrogen source were evaluated, respectively, for HA production. Glucose and NaNO(3) were the best. The combination of them was optimized by the response surface method. The optimum compositions of the supplementary glucose and NaNO(3) were 1.65 g/100 g and 0.43 g/L, respectively. Hypocrellin A production reached 4.7 mg/g.