To obtain clean liquid fuel, a study was conducted on upgrading shale oil by hydroconversion. Various W-Ni catalysts were synthesized and characterized using XRD, BET, TG, H-2-TPR, and NH3-TPD methods. The effects of tungsten content and calcination temperature on the physicochemical properties and activity of catalysts were systematically investigated. W-Ni/Al2O3 with 15 wt % W-loading and 550 degrees C calcination temperature was selected as the optimized catalyst. The product distribution of the primary aromatics in shale oil affected by hydrogenation, ring opening, and cracking reactions was discussed. Finally, key reaction parameters such as pressure, liquid hourly space velocity, and H-2/oil volume ratio were optimized. Characteristics of gasoline and diesel fractions were also measured.