This study investigates the use of CaO–CeO2 mixed oxides as solid base catalysts for the transesterificationof Pistacia chinensis oil with methanol to produce biodiesel. These CaO–CeO2 mixed-oxide catalysts wereprepared by an incipient wetness impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, Ramanspectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The cerium improvedthe heterogeneous catalytic stability remarkably due to the defects induced by the substitution of Ca ionsfor Ce ions on the surface. The best catalyst was determined to be C0.15-973 (with a Ce/Ca molar ratio of0.15 and having been calcined at 973 K), considering its catalytic and anti-leaching abilities. The effects ofreaction parameters such as the methanol/oil molar ratio, the amount of catalyst amount and the reactiontemperature were also investigated. For the C0.15-973 regenerated after five reuses, the biodiesel yieldwas 91%, which is slightly less than that of the fresh sample. The test results revealed that theCaO–CeO2 mixed oxides have good potential for use in the large-scale biodiesel production.