Mesoporous zirconium phosphate (m-ZrP) having high specific surface area and narrow pore size distributions is synthesized in basic medium using zirconium carbonate as source of zirconium. The concentration of phosphate in precursor solutions, as well as the calcination temperature, is found to influence the textural properties and acidity of synthesized m-ZrP significantly. Microscopic analysis indicates the presence of worm like pores with spherical morphology. The porous structure has remarkable thermal stability (up to 800 degrees C). DRIFT and NH3-TPD analysis suggest the presence of reasonable amount of Lewis and Bronsted acid sites. High catalytic activity of synthesized m-ZrP is observed towards Friedel-Craft (F.C.) benzylation reaction. The effect of acid strength of catalyst, reaction time, temperature and amount of catalyst towards Friedel-Craft benzylation reaction are also studied. The m-ZrP is highly active towards other acid catalyzed reactions in solvent-free conditions. The catalytic activity of m-ZrP is much higher than that of conventional layered ZrP. The catalysts were separated easily from reaction mixture, regenerated after a simple activation step and reused at least six times without significant loss in catalytic activity. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.