In the present work, the preparation and use of new supported transition metal carbides as catalyst for the conversion of guaiacol was investigated. Several metals (Mo, Re, Ru, Ni, Fe, and Cu) were impregnated over activated carbon and carburized under a mixture of H-2/C2H4 at 700 degrees C. Catalysts were characterized by XRD, N-2 physisorption, XPS, CO chemisorption, and TPR-MS. Evidence for carbide formation was obtained in the case of Mo, Re, Ni and Ru, based primarily on CO formation during the TPR-MS analysis. It was found that carbides were mainly active for primary guaiacol conversion to phenol and catechol through demethoxylation and demethylation. Completely deoxygenated products such as benzene and cyclohexane were also formed. The highest selectivity in benzene was obtained for the Re-TPR catalyst while Ni-TPR was the most hydrogenative one.