Sulfonated lignin-derived mesoporous carbon (MC-SO3H) solid acid was synthesized by solvent evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method using organic solvent extracted lignin as carbon precursor and glyoxal as crosslinking agent. The MC-SO3H has a mesoporous surface area of 120.74 m2/g and an average pore size of 4.15 nm, and exhibited excellent activity in catalytic conversion of xylan to furfural. An optimized furfural yield of 79.5% was achieved from 1 g xylan catalyzed by 1 g MC-SO3H in γ-valerolactone (GVL) solvent and reacted at 180 ℃ for 10 min. Moreover, MC-SO3H showed satisfactory reaction stability and reusability in catalytic conversion of xylose to produce furfural. This study provides a promising new strategy for the rationally utilization of lignin sources of lignocelluloses.