In this work, the catalytic conversion of carbohydrates into HMF was studied over a heterogeneous chromium-exchanged zirconium phosphate catalyst (ZrP-Cr). Some important reaction parameters were studied with the aim to obtain high HMF yield from the dehydration of carbohydrates.Umder optimal conditions, the dehydration of fructose afforded HMF in a high yield 0f 94.5%, and thatwas 43.2% when glucose was used as the feedstock. The recycling experiment indicated that the catalyst was stable, which indicated that catalyst canbe reused by six times without significant loss of its catalytic activity.