As the fossil fuel reserves are getting depleted, the focus is towards alternative fuels to meet the future energy demand. Literatures showed that 20% biodiesel blend will be more appropriate in diesel engine without engine modifications. Few researches are performed on varying the compression ratio to understand the combustion behavior. The focus of this study is use understand the combustion behavior by varying compression ratios using third grade sesame oil. The blended fuel (B20) and its fuel properties are found to be within the stipulated standards. The in-cylinder pressure increases as the compression ratio is increased. Also, the rate of pressure rise and rate of heat release is higher as the compression ratio is increased. This confirms the fact that blended sesame biodiesel can be used as an alternate fuel source for diesel at higher compression ratio (18:1). (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.