A comparative study of different Lewis acids (metal chlorides of valences I, II, III, IV) has been made. These catalysts are used in the synthesis of a high molecular weight ester in a stirred tank reactor using octanoic acid and n-octyl alcohol as reactants. It was found that the best efficiency of the formatted ester (n-octyl octanoate) was obtained with ferric chloride. This could be explained by the high electronegativity and the existence of free d orbitals in this Lewis acid.