In this study, the kinetics of isopropyl palmitate synthesis including the reaction mechanism was studied based on the two-step noncatalytic method. The liquid-phase diffusion effect on the reaction process was eliminated by adjusting the stirring rate. The results showed that the two-step reaction followed a tetrahedral mechanism and conformed to second-order reaction kinetics. Nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl carbon afforded an intermediate, containing a tetrahedral carbon center. The intermediate ultimately decomposed by elimination of the leaving group, allot ding isopropyl palmitate. The experimental data were analyzed at different temperatures by the integral method. The kinetic equations of the each step were deduced, and the activation energy and frequency factor were obtained. Experiments were performed to verify the feasibility of kinetic equations, and the result showed that the kinetic equations were reliable. This study could be very significant to both industrial application and determining the continuous production of isopropyl palmitate. (C) 2015 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.