A novel mesoporous catalyst has been developed based on tubule halloysite clay and commercial Y-zeolite. The catalyst was tested for the pyrolysis of cottonseed oil in combination with heavy vacuum gasoil and performed better than the original zeolite, in terms of gasoline yield and coke formation. In depth analysis of hydrocarbon content in gasoline fraction revealed that the efficiency of skeletal isomerization is higher in the proposed catalyst than Y-zeolite alone, yielding the gasoline with better octane rating. Blending halloysite clay with Y-zeolite provides cost-effective way for the preparation of mesoporous cracking catalysts. Published by Elsevier Ltd.