Abstract: The oligomerization of 1-decene was studied with AlCl3-ethanol complex as catalyst. The products were analyzed by GC-MS to investigate the effect of reaction temperature on the reaction rate. The simplified kinetic equation was established, and the apparent activation energy was obtained by calculating the conversion of 1-decene. The results show that 1-decene oligomerization catalyzed by AlCl3-ethanol complex is a cationic reaction process with apparent activation energy of 4.98 kJ/mol. At AlCl3 mole ratio of 2%, ethanol/AlCl3 molar ratio of 0.9, reaction temperature in the range of 0-100 ℃, reaction time of 3 h and stirring speed of 600 rpm, the products of oligomerization are mainly trimers and tetramers. As the reaction temperature increase, the yield of dimmers and trimers increases, and the yield of tetramers and pentamer decreases.