Eight-membered ring small-pore zeolites Rho and KFI have been synthesized, characterized and tested for dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether at low-temperature, and compared with other zeolites and three different samples of gamma-Al2O3. Both the zeolites were mainly crystallized from the synthesis gels with the Si/Al ratio of 5.0 by a conventional hydrothermal method without any agitation. The amount of total solid-acid sites was 1.65 mmol g(-1) and 2.53 mmol g(-1) for zeolite KFI and Rho, respectively. In addition, zeolites SSZ-13, RUB-13, and ZSM-5 were also employed for the reaction. Reaction conditions were optimized for a low-temperature catalytic dehydration of methanol selectively to dimethyl ether. Methanol dehydration efficiency of various zeolitic frameworks is discussed against the strength of solid acidity, type of channel structure, specific surface area, and particle size. At temperatures <= 200 degrees C, the overall catalytic efficiency of the small-pore zeolites with appropriate medium-strong acidity and 3-D channels was superior to that of the reference gamma-Al2O3 materials. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.