In this study, biodiesel production from waste cooking oil using FeCl3-modified resin as heterogeneous catalyst were investigated. Under optimised conditions of methanol/oil molar ratio of 10:1, catalyst content of 8%, reaction time of 90 degrees C and reaction time of 120 min, a high transesterification rate of about 92% was achieved. A comprehensive kinetic model was established for the transesterification reaction, the result illustrated that the transesterification of waste cooking oil and methanol catalysed by FeCl3-modified resin was confirmed for Rideal model, and the transesterification reaction was verified for the first order reaction controlled by the interfacial chemical reaction diffusion. The main physical chemical properties of biodiesel met the ASTM D-6751 (American Society for Testing and Materials D-6751) standard. Compared with concentrated sulfuric acid catalyst, the eminent characteristics of reusability and operational stability made the resin catalyst more ascendant for biodiesel production. The results of present research showed that transesterification process catalysed by FeCl3-modified resin was an effective and low cost technology for biodiesel industry. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.