Agricultural residues are important renewable biomass resources that have not received much research attention. Ginger stalk is a major agricultural waste in China.The extraction of cellulose from ginger stalk would convert this waste into a high value-added product and, simultaneously, contribute to environmental protection. This research studied the characteristics of cellulose extracted from ginger stalk by two different treatments: (ⅰ) potassium hydroxide (KOH) treatment and (ⅱ) nitric acid-ethanol (NAE) treatment. The optimal condition for the KOH treatment was obtained, it was at 1∶30 solidto-liquid ratio (SLR) for 5 h extraction time with 14 wt% KOH. The optimal condition for the NAE treatment was as follows: 1∶40 SLR, 4 h extraction time, and a reaction temperature of 90℃. However, the cellulose obtained by NAE treatment was severely degraded than that by KOH treatment. The Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy analyses revealed that both treatments successfully dissolved the lignin and hemicellulose. Two treatments showed a higher cellulose yield, and the extracted cellulose had more crystal structure.