A mesoporous Al-Mg composite oxide with a hexagonal structure was synthesized with aluminium nitrate and magnesium nitrate as the reagents and sodium dodecyl sulfate(SDS) as the template in the presence of ethylenediamine. The XRD, nitrogen adsorption-desorption and TEM studies indicate that the composite has a hexagonal framework structure and an average pore diameter of 2.6 nm. The TG/DTA spectra indicate that the decomposition and the removal of the occluded surfactant of the sample take place in a range of 230-550 ℃. The mesoporous Al-Mg composite oxide exhibites a highly catalytic activity for the oxyethylation of fatty alcohols. Narrow-range distributed ethoxylates are formed in the presence of the mesoporous Al-Mg composite oxide catalyst. The distribution selectivity coefficient(Cs) is 24 when the mesoporous Al-Mg composite oxide was used as a catalyst for the oxyethylation of octanol and the average adduct degree of ethoxylates is 6.4.