Abstract: Solid state fermentation medium for tannase was optimized to improve tannase activity. Plackett- Burman design was firstly used to screen important components of the medium, and three components with significant effect on tannase activity were bran, water and tannic acid. After steepest ascent experiment approaching the optimal region of these factors, response surface experiment of center composite design (CCD) was applied to establish the quadratic regression model for tannase activity. The optimal medium compositions were obtained as follows: 9.23 g bran, 0.78 mL H2O, 0.76 g tannic acid, 1.20 g NH4NO3, 0.024 g MnCl2, 0.004 g NaCl, 0.004 g MgSO4 7H2O and 0.004 g KH2PO4. The activity value of tannase fermented under the above conditions was 462.72 U/mL, which was nearly in agreed with the predictive value 467.57 U/mL. The results indicated that it was very effective for optimization of solid state fermentation medium for tannase by using Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology.