Saccharomyces cerevisiae is useful as a host for genetic engineering, since it allows the folding and glycosylation of expressed heterologous eukaryotic proteins and can be subjected to many genetic manipulations. Recent advancements in the yeast cell surface engineering developed strategies to genetically immobilize amylolytic, cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes on yeast cell surface for the production of fuel ethanol from biomass. We reviewed the basic principle and progress of S. cerevisiae cell-surface engineering and gave an insight into the recent technological developments in the production of bioethanol using surface engineered yeast.