(python2.7.x) Install $ pip install xlrd Source code import xlrd def get_sheet_lines(xlsx_filename, sheet_name, num_of_header_lines=1): book = xlrd.open_workbook(xlsx_filename) sheet = book.sheet_by_name(sheet_name.decode('utf8')) lines = [] for row in range(sheet.nrows): line = [] for col in range(sheet.ncols): line.append(sheet.cell(row, col).value) lines.append(line) lines = lines[num_of_header