In this paper, we reported that a new multi-component catalyst of activated carbon supported nanosized Pd and VOx (Pd-VOx/AC, x = 2.38) prepared by wet impregnation method exhibited significant catalytic effect on hydrogen desorption of MgH2. It is demonstrated that the nanocomposites of MgH2 + Pd-VOx/AC prepared by ball milling could reduce the desorption temperature, e.g. differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement indicated that the peak desorption temperature decreased similar to 40 degrees C, and also improve the desorption kinetics of MgH2, e.g. desorbed 6.5 wt% hydrogen within 30 mm at 300 degrees C under an initial pressure of 1 kPa. A significant decrease of activation energy (E-a) indicated that Pd-VOx/AC catalyst is highly efficient for MgH2 dehydrogenation, which may be ascribed to the synergistic effect of nanometric bimetals (metal oxides) and nanocarbon. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.