A novel class of fiber supported ionic liquids (FSILs) was first used to catalyze fructose dehydration to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and exhibited excellent catalytic activity in terms of 86.2% and 84.7% HMF yield at 100 °C for 30 min in DMSO and 45 min in a mixed-aqueous system respectively, as well as the ability to be very easily recycled, with superior catalytic activity and stability even after 10 cycles. The procedures can be scaled up and the formed HMF can be easily obtained by simple distillation, and the solvent can be recycled. The fiber catalytic process is much better than that via acid resins and silica supported ionic liquid nanoparticles in yields and recyclability, and its extremely simple separation operation and low catalyst dosage as well as selectivity are significantly superior to the single ionic liquid catalysis and liquid–liquid biphasic system of ionic liquid catalysis. This is the first report on the application of the inexpensive and readily available polypropylene fiber (PPF) as a new support for ionic liquids, and the prominent features of PPF and the remarkable performance of FSILs are very attractive to the chemical industry.