We applied methanesulfonic acid (MSA) as a green catalyst to produce levulinic acid (LA) from monomeric sugars. To optimize reaction factors and assess the effect of reciprocal interactions, a statistical experimental design was applied. Optimized result of 40.7% LA yield was obtained under the following conditions: 60 g/L galactose, 0.4M MSA at 188 °C for 26.7 min. On the other hand, 66.1% LA yield was achieved under 60 g/L fructose and 0.4M MSA at 188 °C for 36 min conditions. For the effect of combined severity factor on the LA yield from galactose, the LA yield showed a peaked pattern, which was linearly increased until a CSF 3.2 and then diminished with a high CSF. Moreover, it was closely fitted to a non-linear Gaussian peak pattern with a high regression value of 0.989. These results suggest that MSA and galactose, derived from marine red macro-algae, can potentially be applied for the conversion into platform chemicals.