This study is focused on the investigation of animal bones modified with potassium hydroxide (KOH) as heterogeneous solid base catalyst for transesterification of non-edible Jatropha oil. The prepared catalyst was characterized by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The prepared catalyst had a high catalytic activity for transesterification. In addition, the catalyst had excellent stability, there by having potential use as a heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from Jatropha oil with a high free fatty acid (FFA) yield. The experimental results revealed the optimal parametric conditions viz. methanol/oil molar ratio, 9:1, calcination temperature, 900 degrees C and catalyst concentration, 6.0 wt % of oil corresponding to a maximum fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) yield of 96.1% at temperature of 70 +/- 3 degrees C in reaction time of 3 h. Reusability results of the prepared catalyst confirmed that it could be reutilized up to 4 times without losing much activity, thus giving birth to a potentially applicable possibility in biodiesel production. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.