A highly porous metal-organic framework (IRMOF-8) was synthesized by a solvothermal method, and used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction. The solid catalyst was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), and nitrogen physisorption measurements. High conversions were achieved in the presence of a catalytic amount of the IRMOF-8 (1-5 mol%) without the need for an inert atmosphere. The solid catalyst could be facilely separated from the reaction mixture by simple centrifugation, and could be reused without a significant degradation in catalytic activity. No contribution from homogeneous catalysis of active acid species leaching into the reaction solution was detected. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.