Xylanase dose prior to alkali treatment for hemicellulose removal, an essential process step of paper grade kraft pulp upgradation was optimized. It appeared that alkali extraction is sufficient to obtain an acceptable level of pentosan but poor cellulose reactivity and other associated drawbacks presented the significance of xylanase pretreatment. Also, an adequate dose of xylanase prior to alkali extraction can result in improved pulp properties in terms of pentosan, Fock reactivity, viscosity, alkali solubility, yield and alpha cellulose. Further, it can also result in more efficient cellulose treatment subsequently since the cellulose native structure is well preserved.