Acid-base bifunctional mesoporous material SO3H-SBA-15-NH2 was successfully synthesized under low acidic medium through protection Of amino groups. X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption-desorption, transmission electron micrographs (TEM), back titration, C-13 magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR and Si-29 magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR were employed to characterize the synthesized materials. The obtained bifunctional material was tested for aldol condensation reaction between acetone and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde. Compared with monofunctional catalysts of SO3H-SBA-15 and SBA-15-NH2, the bifunctional sample of SO3H-SBA-15-NH2 containing amine and sulfonic acid groups exhibited excellent acid-basic properties, which make it possess high activity for the aldol condensation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.