The kinetics of synthesizing sebacic acid dibenzyl ester used as plasticizer or lubricant was investigated for the esterification of solid dipotassium sebacate with benzyl bromide via phase-transfer catalysis in a solid-liquid system. Without the addition of catalysts in a stirred batch reactor, no products were observed after 4 h at 80 degreesC. If one employs tetra-n-butylammonium bromide as the catalyst during this esterification of the aliphatic dicarboxylate, a product yield above 60% can be achieved for the same operating conditions. Factors affecting the efficiencies of the phase-transfer catalysts were explored to search for the reaction mechanism. A mechanism based on the concept of topochemical reaction in phase-transfer catalysis and homogeneous solubilization with a transition complex was proposed. The kinetic model was set up to describe the catalytic behaviors successfully for the overall reaction during and after the induction period.