The liquid phase alkylation of catechol with tert-butyl alcohol was carried out over a solid acid catalyst-WOx/ZrO2. p-tert-Butyl catechol (4-TBC) was the predominant product with 4,6-di-tert-butyl catechol as the minor product. A systematic study has been carried out to understand the effect of various parameters such as WO3 loading, mole ratio of the reactants, temperature and catalyst loading. The experimental results indicated that under optimized condition of 1:1 mole ratio of catechol to tert-butyl alcohol at 413 K within 30 mm, both the conversion for catechol and selectivity towards 4-TBC was 99%. The Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) surface reaction controlled model has been used for kinetic studies. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.