Recombinant Escherichia coli engineered to contain the whole mevalonate pathway and foreign genes for $eta$-carotene biosynthesis, was utilized for production of $eta$-carotene in bioreactor cultures. Optimum culture conditions were established in batch and pH-stat fed-batch cultures to determine the optimal feeding strategy thereby improving production yield. The specific growth rate and volumetric productivity in batch cultures at $37^{circ}C$ were 1.7-fold and 2-fold higher, respectively, than those at $28^{circ}C$. Glycerol was superior to glucose as a carbon source. Maximum $eta$-carotene production (titer of 663 mg/L and overall volumetric productivity of 24.6 mg/L $ imes$ h) resulted from the simultaneous addition of 500 g/L glycerol and 50 g/L yeast extract in pH-stat fed-batch culture.