The condensation reaction of formaldehyde and methyl formate to form methyl glycolate and methyl methoxy acetate catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid and different Lewis acid compounds has been investigated. The composite catalytic system consisting of p-toluenesulfonic acid and NiX2 (X = Cl, Br, I), especially NiI2, exhibited a high catalytic performance for the condensation reaction, the total yield of MG and MMAc was up to 72.37%.(C) 2007 Gong Ying Wang. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.