Biodiesel production from biomass is considered renewable and the use of biomass offers huge opportunity in bio-based economy market. In this work, biodiesel was produced from Jatropha curcas oil using synthetic hydrotalcite (HT) catalyst. The catalyst was obtained through combustion, in which, saccharose was used as fuel. The highest conversion of jatropha oil to biodiesel at 75.2% was achieved using re-crystallized HT from its mixed oxides when reaction was carried out at 65 degrees C with a methanol:jatropha oil molar ratio of 12:1, a reaction time of 6 h and a catalyst loading of 4 wt.%. The HT calcined at 850 degrees C contained medium basic strength sites and suitable pore medium that favored the chemical reaction. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.