Cetyl oleate (wax ester) was synthetized via esterification reaction catalyzed by immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) by covalent attachment on rice husk particles activated with glutaraldehyde. The influence of temperature, biocatalyst concentration, organic solvent and reaction time on the ester synthesis was studied. Esterification reaction in a solvent-free system was also performed. Maximum immobilized protein concentration was 27.5 ± 1.8 mg/g of support using initial protein loading of 40 mg/g of support. Under optimal conditions, maximum conversion of 90.2 ± 0.6% was obtained for 9 h of reaction in hexane medium using 1000 mM of each reactant (cetyl alcohol and oleic acid), 50 °C and 15% m/v of biocatalyst. In a solvent-free system, conversion of 91.5 ± 0.8% was observed for 24 h of reaction. The biocatalyst exhibited satisfactory stability after 5 cycles of reaction of 9 h each in hexane medium.