A palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) has been used for biodiesel production. An efficient sulfonated-glucose acid catalyst (SGAC) was prepared by sulfonation to catalyze the esterification reaction. The effect of three variables i.e. methanol-to-PFAD molar ratio, catalyst amount and reaction time, on the yield of PFAD esters was studied by the response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum reaction conditions were: 12.2:1 methanol-to-PFAD molar ratio, 2.9% catalyst concentration and 134 min of time as predicted by the RSM. The reaction under the optimum conditions resulted in 94.5% of the free fatty acid (FFA) conversion with 92.4% of the FAME yield. The properties of the PFAD esters were determined according to biodiesel standards. (C) 2015 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.