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Land surface emissivity is a key parameter in estimating the land surface radiation budget. The validation of the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface emissivity with field measurements is rarely performed. In this study, a field measurement was performed over the central part of the Taklimakan Desert for the validation of the MODIS land surface emissivity products (MOD11B1) Version 4 (V4.1) and Version 5 (V5). The homogeneity of two validation sites was verified using the advanced spaceborne thermal emission and reflection radiometer (ASTER) land surface temperature and emissivity acquired closely before and after the overpass of MODIS. MOD11B1 V4.1 and V5 emissivity data for bands 29, 31, and 32 were compared to the emissivity calculated from the field measured emissivity spectra convolved with the filter function of the MODIS bands 29 (8.52 mu m), 31 (11.03 mu m), and 32 (12.04 mu m). The comparison results indicate that the V4.1 emissivity data agree well with the field measurements, with mean absolute differences of 0.017 and 0.007 for site 1 and site 2, respectively, and the mean absolute differences of the V5 emissivity data were 0.034 and 0.033 for site 1 and site 2, respectively. The data version used must be considered when MOD11B1 is used in real applications, especially for time series analysis. (C) The Authors.