Lignin was extracted from the fermentation residue of corn stalk by using the alkaline-ethanol extraction method. The lignin was then liquefied by the polyhydric alcohols to obtain a lignin-based product which was further used to replace parts of polyether polyols for the preparation of rigid polyurethane foams. Results showed that lignin yield of alkaline-ethanol extraction method could reach 93.5% and purity of lignin was up to 94.1%. Liquefaction of lignin by using the PEG-400/glycerol as liquefying reagents yielded liquefaction efficiency as high as 99.5% and hydroxyl content of the liquefaction product was 360mgKOH/g. For the polyurethane preparation, rate of polyether polyols substitution by the liquefaction product could reach mass fraction 47%. At this point, density and compression strength of the obtained polyurethane foam were 48.6kg/m3 and 212kPa which met the national standards.