Abstract:  One Monascus strain Mp\|41 with high pigment production ability was isolated from red kojic rice collected all over China. According to its morphology and ITS sequences， the strain Mp\|41 was identified as Monascus purpureu. The solid fermentation conditions of Mp\|41 were optimized by response surface method. It was shown that the optimal fermentation conditions were as follows: long rice as substrate， initial moisture content of 4481%， initial pH of 60， culture temperature of 32℃， inoculation amount of 265 mL·30g-1， and fermentation time of 1019 d. Under this condition， the color value of red kojic rice after fermentation was the highest （5 3404 U·g-1）， which was 2-3 times as much as those sold in the market.

Key words:  Monascus spp., Monascus pigment, solid fermentation, condition optimization