Sugar cane bagasse is liquefied in the presence of various solvents under different experimental conditions. A series of ethanol amines (MEA, DEA, TEA), ethanol, ammonia and water are investigated as vehicles for the conversion, with tetralin being used as a reference solvent. The best results are obtained using ethanol amines. The influence of particle size, temperature, pressure and reaction time on the conversion yield, as well as on the product quality, are evaluated. Longer conversion times at high temperature not only increase the amount of liquefied product but also promote better upgrading to smaller molecules of immediate interest. The quality of the conversion products was followed by liquid column chromatography, permitting optimizing the liquefaction through product characterization.