Present work demonstrates an easy route by sol-gel method, without using any template, for the synthesis of flower shaped tungsten (W) supported TiO2/SiO2 catalyst for the triglyceride transesterification. The structure of the catalyst was established by powder X-ray diffraction and- surface morphology and particle size by field emission scanning and high resolution transmission electron microscopy studies, respectively. The oxidation state of tungsten by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was found to be +6. Under the optimized reaction conditions of 5 wt% of 20-W/TiO2/SiO2-700 catalyst, 30:1 methanol to oil molar ratio and 65 degrees C reaction temperature, more than 98% fatty acid ethyl ester yield was obtained in 4 h. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameter of the reaction was also evaluated following the pseudo first order equation. The catalyst was recycled in four consecutive runs and total metal contents in biodiesel was observed <5 ppm to maintain the stability of the catalyst. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.