Stearoyl ethanolamine was synthesized by amidation of stearic acid with ethanolamine in solventless conditions. Iron containing heterogeneous catalysts supported on SiO2, Al2O3, Beta (BEA), ZSM-12 (MTW) and Ferrierite (FER) were used in this work. Sn-modified Ferrierite and H-Ferrierite were also studied for comparison. Fe modified catalysts synthesized using solid state ion-exchange and evaporation impregnation methods, were thoroughly characterized with X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscope, FTIR with pyridine, nitrogen adsorption, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis and Mossbauer spectroscopy. The highest conversion was obtained with Fe-H-FER-20 at 140 degrees C in 1 h giving 61% conversion and 98% selectivity towards the desired amide. The catalytic performance in terms of turnover frequency per mole of iron was achieved with the catalyst exhibiting the largest amount of Fes(3+) species, optimum acidity and a relatively low Bronsted to Lewis acid site ratio.