Experiments for acetic acid hydrogenation and catalyst characterizations were conducted to study the kinetics of hydrogenation and esterification over PtSn impregnated on Al2O3 catalyst (PtSn/Al2O3), K doped on PtSn/Al2O3 catalyst (K/PtSn/Al2O3), and PtSn impregnated on K/Al2O3 catalyst (PtSn/K/Al2O3). Kinetic parameters such as, activation energy, dissociation enthalpy, and adsorption heat of elementary reaction for hydrogenation and esterification were determined on the basis of Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. After the addition of 0.5 % wt to PtSn/Al2O3, activation energy of hydrogenation decreased from 20.8 to 11.5 kJ/mol and activation energy of esterification increased from 22.3 to 31.7 kJ/mol. The results of dissociation energy and adsorption heat reflect that K/PtSn/Al2O3 can improve spillover of hydrogen and desorption of ethanol. PtSn/K/Al2O3 had the opposite effect. Potassium also enhanced dissociation of C-OH bond to form more acetyl species. Good agreement was obtained upon comparison of the experimental and calculated data.