Esterification of salicylic acid with phenol to synthesize phenylsalicylate over solid acids as catalysts has been studied. Catalytic activity of different oxides such as Al2O3, SiO2, ZrO2 and their sulfated forms and zeolites such as Na-Y, Na-beta, ZSM-5 and their protonated forms have been investigated. Catalytic activity studies have been conducted in liquid phase under refluxing conditions. A systematic study has been made to find the effect of amount of the catalyst, the molar ratio of alcohol to acid and the duration of reaction on the synthesis of the ester. Product analysis has been done on gas chromatograph and further characterized by GC-MS, IR, H-1 NMR and C-13 NMR. All the catalysts have been found to be active and exhibit 100% selectivity towards the formation of phenylsalycilate as the reaction product. The catalytic activities of sulfated oxides and protonated forms of zeolites are found to be higher than their parent forms. The catalysts have been characterized for their surface acidity and BET surface area. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.