The catalytic conversion of ethanol to aromatic compounds ETA was studied over ZSM-5 heterogeneous catalysts. The effect of reaction temperature, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV), and addition of water and methanol, which are the potential impurities of bio-ethanol, on the catalytic performance was investigated in a fixed bed reactor. Commercial ZSM-5 catalysts having different Si/Al2 ratios of 23 to 280 and modified ZSM-5 catalysts by addition of metal (Zn, La, Cu, and Ga) were used for the activity and stability tests in ETA reaction. The catalysts were characterized with ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques. The results of catalytic performance revealed that the optimal Si/Al2 ratio of ZSM-5 is about 50~80 and the selectivity to aromatic compounds decreases in the order of Zn/La > Zn > La > Cu > Ga for the modified ZSM-5 catalysts. Among these catalysts from the ETA reaction, Zn-La/ZSM-5 showed the best catalytic performance for the ETA reaction. The selectivity to aromatic compounds was 72% initially and 56% after 30 h over the catalysts at reaction temperature of 437 ℃ and WHSV of 0.8 h^(-1).