Wood is considered a versatile and valuable material. It is used as an energy source or as a structural material -for its mechanical properties and visual appearance- and also for the production of non-food consumer products, such as pharmaceutical products, adhesives, textile products, polymeric compounds, cosmetics, papers and various basic products. Motivated by the diversity of wood species and the increasing availability of wood residues, the following investigation is intended to characterize the residues of three timber species that predominate in Colombian industry: Tectona grandis, Pinus patula and Acacia mangium, in order to promote their transformation into industrial products of greater value than the waste product. Sample wood was subjected to physical, chemical and thermal characterization by means of tests of: density, pH, last analysis, proximal analysis, lignocellulosic content, extractive and calorific value. The results obtained allowed the evaluation of wood waste as a resource of greater value to generate recycled products such as particle boards, fibers or laminated and other materials such as biopulps, composite materials, bioadsorbents and activated carbon, and also the production of fuels type biochar, syngas and bio-oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]