A process for making ethylbenzene from aqueous ethanol and benzene. The aqueous ethanol may contain as little as 30 percent ethanol, such as that obtained by one distillation of liquors from sugar fermentation. The mixed vapors are passed over a catalyst at approximately 350C. The catalyst ("Encilite-2") is a ZSM-5-type zeolite in which some of the aluminum has been replaced by iron