The novel efficient procedure has been developed for the synthesis of biodiesel from soybean oil and methanol. K2CO3 supported on MgO has been selected as the most efficient catalyst for the reaction with the yield of 99%. Operational simplicity, low cost of the catalyst used, high yields. short reaction time and reusability are the key features of this methodology. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.