Selective hydrogenolysis of cyclic and linear ether C-O bonds is accomplished by a tandem catalytic system consisting of lanthanide triflates and sinter-resistant supported palladium nanoparticles in an ionic liquid. The lanthanide triflates catalyze endothermic dehydroalkoxylation, while the palladium nanoparticles hydrogenate the resulting intermediate alkenols to afford saturated alkanols with high overall selectivity. The catalytic C-O hydrogenolysis is shown to have significant scope, and the C-O bond cleavage is turnover-limiting.