Mesoporous nanosized sulfated zirconia (MNSZ) has been synthesized by using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) both as a template and a sulfating agent via one-step LCT route. It is demonstrated that SO42-, originated from the hydrophilic head of template SDS, can be easily incorporated into zirconia to form MNSZ with super acidity, and the formation mechanism of MNSZ is illustrated. Catalytic data show that MNSZ((550)) exhibits higher activity than that of TSZ((550)) in transesterification of soybean oil with methanol. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.