Abstract: Brönsted acidic ionic liquid N-methyl pyrrolidonium hydrosulfate ([hnmp]HSO₄) was immobilized in silica gel by sol-gel method. The silica-gel-supported ionic liquid catalyst (SILC) was used as a new kind of cheap and accessible catalyst in esterification reactions. Without dehydrant，the yield of butyl acetate reaches to 69 %，and the turnover frequency (TOF) is 1350 h^－1. After the SILC was recycled for 8 times，the ester yield of the reaction was basically similar to that obtained with the freshly prepared catalyst. According to the analysis of TG-IR，about 7 % ionic liquid was strongly adsorbed in silica-gel. The products separation using SILC was convenient. It is presumed that the SILC can be used in the fixed-bed process.