The synthesis of a new, effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst, mesoporous SnO2/WO3 (SW) to promote the esterification involving oleic acid and ethanol for the production of ethyl oleate is presented here. The developed mesoporous SnO2/WO3 with surface area of 130 m(2)/g and pore size of 3.9 nm exhibits up to 90% conversion of oleic acid (for 2 h reaction, at 80 degrees C) with high yield (similar to 92%) to the ethyl oleate, a product of the esterification reaction of oleic acid. The catalyst exhibits a comparable activity of H2SO4, which is a known catalyst for esterification of organic acids. Kinetic investigation reveals that the experimental data follows a first order dependency on the concentration of the oleic acid and the catalyst. The conversion of oleic acid also has noticeable dependency on the reaction temperatures and different alcohols. Regeneration through heating of the used mesoporous SnO2/WO3 catalyst at 400 degrees C for 3 h allows it for reuse without losing of its catalytic activity. (C) 2010 Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.