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Background: The alkylation of benzene with methanol is an important synthetic method that is widely used in various chemical production processes. However, obtaining a high selectivity for xylene and annihilating the MTO side reaction remain challenges. Results: In this work, a Ru/HZSM-5 catalyst was prepared using ZSM-5 as the precursor by a chemical precipitation method. Both XRD and TEM confirmed that Ru nanoparticles were evenly dispersed on the surface of the ZSM-5. The catalytic performance of benzene alkylation with methanol on the Ru/HZSM-5 catalyst was investigated. The results showed that the Ru/HZSM-5 catalyst could completely annihilate the MTO side reaction with a high conversion efficiency of benzene and selectivity for xylene, which resulted from the large gap between the transgression energy value of Ru and the ionization potential value of benzene, and the acidity of the catalyst changed greatly. Conclusion: These findings may offer not only a new and efficient multifunctional catalyst for benzene alkylation but also fundamental insight into the catalytic mechanism of the Ru/HZSM-5 catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]