A heterogeneous catalyst, TiO2 supported on Al2O3 was used for the synthesis methyl propyl carbonate (MPC) by the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and propanol. The morphological and chemical states of titanium species in TiO2/Al2O3 were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and CO2-TPD, respectively. The effect of reaction conditions, such as temperature, gaseous hourly space velocity (GHSV), and the molar ratio of propanol/DMC on the reaction were discussed. The results showed that under the optimized reaction conditions, the reaction temperature 403 K, the molar ratio of propanol/DMC of 0.5:1, and a GHSV 360 h(-1), the conversion of DMC was 62%, the yields of MPC was 51%. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.