Different solid basic catalysts including CsF/alpha Al2O3, KF/alpha Al2O3, Ca(NO3)(2)/gamma Al2O3, NaNO3/gamma Al2O3, LiNO3/gamma Al2O3 were evaluated for the transesterification of ethyl acrylate by n-hexanol. All of them are active and selective in the transesterification reaction under mild conditions and without solvent, using a 1/1 molar ratio of reactants. Ca/gamma Al2O3 was shown to be the most selective of this set of catalysts and it could be recycled three times without lost of selectivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.