SO2 4 =ZrO2 was employed as a catalyst for the conversion of alcohols into the corresponding iodides using NaI in CH3CN at room temperature. Present procedure is found to be selective for the conversion of benzylic alcohols in the presence of saturated alcohols into benzylic iodides. The catalyst was characterized by XRD, FTIR, elemental analysis, BET surface area and TG–DTA techniques. This protocol provides a mild and efficient way for the one pot conversion of structurally diverse alcohols to their corresponding alkyl iodides with high selectivity.