Monascus red pigment production was highly dependent on nutritional and environmental conditions. Among the 8 kinds of carbon and nitrogen sources examined, glucose and MSG were determined to be the best carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. Maximum specific productivity of red pigment was obtained at 30 g/L of glucose and 1.5 g /L of MSG. Of the three metals examined, Fe2+ showed the strongest stimulatory effect on pigment production and some stimulatory effect was attributed to Mn2+. However, zinc inhibted red pigment production. The pH range of 5.5 to 8.5 favored the production of red pigment, and at pH higher than 8.5 and lower than 5.5 red pigment production decreased noticeably. In batch fermentation, the optimum agitation speed was determined to be 700 rpm. At optimum culture conditions batch fermentation showed that the maximum biomass yield and specific productivity of red pigment were 0.20 g DCW/g glucose and, 32.5 OD500 g DCW-1 h-1, respectively.