<p>Alkylate gasoline, produced via alkylation processes as a high-octane component, supports cleaner energy objectives and environmental impact reduction strategies. Strengthening the catalytic durability of solid acid catalysts in alkylation process is an urgent challenge to be addressed. Herein, a surface modified strategy was proposed to enhance the catalytic durability of H-Beta zeolite. Octadecyltrichlorosilane was utilized to enhance hydrophobicity without significantly reducing the acid density. It is found that the catalytic stability of appropriate hydrophobic zeolite has increased by 37%, compared to the unmodified zeolite. Results from adsorption energy analysis indicate that rational hydrophobic modification of the external surface serves to increase the ratio of isobutane and butene in the channel, which consequently enhances the stability of catalyst. Meanwhile, excessive silanization modification will result in the decrease of catalytic stability due to the pore mouth blockage. The findings of this work provide an innovative strategy to enhances catalytic durability of solid acid catalysts in C4 alkylation process.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>