BACKGROUND In this work, a novel environment-friendly synthesis technology of dibutyl itaconate (DBI) with lipase as catalyst was developed. The effects of various parameters, like the sorts and amounts of lipase, reaction temperature, solvent, molar ratio of substrates, dehydrant, reactor and the reaction time have been studied and optimized. The reuse rate of lipase has been evaluated. RESULTS The highest conversion rate of IA was 61.8% with 97.3% purity of DBI. The optimal reaction conditions were as follows: the mole ratio of itaconic acid (IA) to n-butanol (NBA) was 1:13, the amount of Novozym 435 was 20 wt% of IA, the reaction temperature was 65 degrees C, the anhydrous CaCl2 was used as dehydrant, and the stirred tank reactor (STR) was used as reactor. The lipase showed reusability up to at least fourth cycle. The reaction was conducted in a solvent free system, which is an additional benefit. CONCLUSION An environment-friendly synthetic technology of DBI was designed. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry