the present invention discloses a process for the co - production of ethylene and dimethyl ether , comprising providing a feedstock comprising ethanol and methanol , with a weight ratio of methanol to ethanol being in a range of from 1 : 10 to 10 : 1 ; feeding the feedstock into a reaction zone containing a solid catalyst to give an effluent , wherein a reaction temperature is in a range of from 200 to 480 ° c ., a reaction pressure is in a range of from 0 to 2 mpa , and a weight hourly space velocity of the feedstock is in a range of from 0 . 1 to 10 h − 1 , and wherein the solid catalyst is selected from the group consisting of alumina catalysts and crystalline aluminosilicate catalysts ; and isolating ethylene and dimethyl ether from the effluent from step .