A series of sulphated zirconia samples (SZ) promoted with Al2O3, Ga2O3, and Fe2O3 were synthesized by co-precipitation at constant pH and aged under reflux conditions. Structural, surface and catalytic properties of the samples were investigated using N-2 adsorption/desorption, thermal analysis, in-situ FTIR spectroscopy, TPR-MS and EGA-MS measurements. The catalytic performance of promoted SZ in anisole acylation has been investigated. Promotion by either Fe2O3 or Ga2O3 was found to increase the catalytic activity (yield) after recycle of catalysts with respect un-promoted sample, whereas promotion by Al2O3 was observed to increase the conversion but not the yield. It is worth noting that all systems present high selectivity to the p-metoxyacetophenone product. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.