A series of amide compounds have been prepared, using aliphatic or aromatic carboxylic acids and fatty amines as raw materials. A method for the direct amidation of carboxylic acids and amines with the participation of niobium pentachloride and ionic liquids has been established for the efficient preparation of amides. The influencing factors of reaction, such as the amount of catalyst, reaction solvent, reaction time and reaction temperature, were optimized. The results show that the yield of amidation reaction can reach 77-96% under the optimal reaction conditions (organic acid 2.0 mmol, organic amine 2.0 mmol, niobium pentachloride 0.16 mmol, 3-butyl-1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium bromide 0.3 mmol, 4A M.S. 200 mg, toluene 4 mL, reaction temperature 110 oC, reaction time 24 h).