The influence of the nature of the solvent on the activity and selectivity of the hydrogenation of acetophenone to 1-phenylethanol over Raney nickel catalysts has been studied. In the solvent sequence : cyclohexane, 2-propanol, 2-propanol-water, 2-propanol-water+sodium hydroxide, the maximum yield in phenylethanol observed over Raney nickel rises from 82.4% to 99.5%. The very high selectivity in 1-phenylethanol observed in the later solvent is attributed to the presence of water at the catalyst surface which diminishes strongly the adsorption at the aromatic ring of acetophenone and of 1-phenylethanol; the formation of cyclohexylmethylketone and of l-cyclohexylethanol arising from the hydrogenation of this ring being diminished too. The addition of sodium hydroxide improves also the selectivity, the acid catalysed hydrogenolysis of the C-OH bond is prevented. In the best solvent mixture, i.e., 2-propanol-water+sodium hydroxide, the unpromoted Raney nickel is as selective as the chromium doped catalysts, the later ones being slightly more reactive.