Screening is conducted to select a fungus with desired characteristics intended for various applications, e.g. bioremediation and enzyme production. A qualitative method was used in this study for screening of fungal ligninolytic enzyme activities. The fungal ligninolytic activity was correlated with its growth from the screenings to identify a suitable fungus for solid substrate fermentation. Four strains of fungi, namely, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Pycnoporus sanguineus, Phlebia radiata and Pleurotus sajor-caju, were screened for their ligninolytic enzyme activities using guaiacol and remazol brilliant blue-R (RBB-R) as screening reagents. The screenings were conducted at both, the optimal growth temperature of each fungus and 35 • C. All the fungi, except P. radiata, showed positive guaiacol oxidation and RBB-R decolourisation activities. On the basis of the results, P. sajor-caju may be a suitable fungus for use in bioconversion of lignocellulose because it maintained guaiacol oxidation and RBB-R decolourisation activities at 35 • C. Its halo-to-colony area ratios of guaiacol oxidation and RBB-R decolourisation after 6 days were 7.0 and 2.7, respectively. In the subsequent growth study, the measured colony area was closely correlated with the dry fungal cell weight with a regression value (R 2 ) of 0.971. Thus, the colony size could be used as an indicator of fungal growth if the screening media do not significantly slow the growth of fungus.