Currently, the main crop for biodiesel in Malaysia is palm oil. Recently, Jatropha curcas has drawn the attention of the Malaysian Government. This paper aims to study the feasibility of Jatropha as a potential biodiesel feedstock for Malaysia. Physico-chemical properties of Jatropha biodiesel and its blends with diesel followed by engine performance and emissions characteristics of B-10, B-20 and B-0 were studied. The results show that viscosities of B-10 and B-20 are closer to diesel. Moreover, only the oxidation stability of B-10 and B-20 meet the European specifications (EN 590) of 20 h. Therefore, only B-10 and B-20 have been used to evaluate engine performance and emission. Compared to B-0, the average reduction in brake power (BP) is 4.67% for B-10 and 8.86% for B-20. It was observed that brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) increases as the percentage of biodiesel increase. Compared to B-0, a reduction in hydrocarbon (HC) emission of 3.84% and 10.25% and carbon monoxide (CO) emission of 16% and 25% was reported using B-10 and B-20. However, the blends give higher nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission of 3% and 6% using B-10 and B-20. As a conclusion, B-10 and B-20 can be used in a diesel engine without any modifications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.