The selective conversion of cellulose to sorbitol is a promising route to valorize biomass. A binary catalyst ZrP-Ru/MC was constructed by mesoporous carbon supported ruthenium (Ru/MC) combined with zirconium phosphate (ZrP). It was found that ZrP-Ru/MC was an excellent catalyst for the conversion of cellulose with high sorbitol yield. Under the optimal reaction condition, a high sorbitol yield of 66.4% was obtained in just 1.5 h if cellulose was mix-milled together with ZrP. The characterizations results indicated that the high dispersion of Ru and macroporous-mesoporous structure were the key factor to determine the excellent catalytic activity of Ru/MC. In addition, the Ru TOF of 220 h(-1) in the Ru/MC was much higher than that of commercial ruthenium carbon, indicating the high Ru utilization in Ru/MC. [GRAPHICS] .