Abstract: AlCl₃ immobilized on MCM-41 as solid acid catalyst was prepared by the solid-state interaction under microwave heating.Using the esterification of acetic acid with n-pentanol as a probe reaction，the effects of different AlCl₃ loading amounts，reaction time，and microwave power on the catalytic performances were investigated.Results showed that，the activity of the catalyst was the best when the AlCl₃ loading amount was 6 mmol/g，reaction time was 15 min，and microwave power was  750 W，and the esterification rate could reach 92.7%.

Key words: microwave, MCM-41, AlCl₃, acetic acid, n-pentanol