A novel nanocomposite catalyst was prepared from immobilization of aluminum oxide hydroxide onto the attapulgite. Characterizations with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the as-prepared catalyst revealed that AlO(OH) nanoparticles were distributed on the attapulgite. Thermogravimetric analysis-infrared spectrometry (TGA-IR) of the mixture prepared by mixing of bishydroxy ethylene terephthalate (BHET) and the catalyst indicated that attapulgite-supported aluminum oxide hydroxide catalyst can catalyze BHET polycondensation under the applied conditions. A kinetic model for determining the activation energy has been applied to evaluate the catalyst activity. The catalyst activity was examined through comparative experiments, and the results showed that the new catalyst exhibited higher activity for BHET polycondensation under identical reaction conditions, and the viscosity-average molecular weight of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) product obtained was increased about 2000 g/mol. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013