Sustainable production of biofuel additive ethyl levulinate (EL) from biomass-derived furfural (FF) is an interesting way owing to its application in improving the diesel combustion process without the expense of octane number. In this study, a stable mesoporous SO 3 H@Ni−Al catalyst prepared via facile a hydrothermal-functionalization process was characterized and applied for ultrasound-assisted transformation of FF into EL using ethanol as a hydrogen donor. Interestingly, the formation of humins in the mixture solution and on the catalyst surface was effectively suppressed after introduction of an oxygen environment, resulting from an oxidative degradation reaction. The optimization process was carried out under catalyst acidity, ultrasonic power generation, and statistical design. As desired, a high yield of EL (∼97%, E a = 25.95 kJ/mol) without humins' formation was well achieved in a shorter reaction time (95 min) and at a low reaction temperature (112 °C), compared with a previous conventional reaction. Moreover, the introduction of oxygen strongly promoted the catalyst reusability with a slight reduction in its catalytic behavior, while selectivity/distribution in the liquid product had slight differentiation.