The influence of the addition of different amounts of vanadium on the activity and resistance to poisoning of a 0.5% Pt/Al2O3 catalyst used in the hydrodechlorination of tetrachloroethylene was studied. Experiments carried out at 350 degreesC were devoted to compare the effect of different vanadium loads on the deactivation of the catalyst. A catalyst with 0.12% V and reduced at 500 degreesC presents the best performance. The performances of this catalyst and the non-doped Pt/Al2O3 were compared at 250 degreesC in a longer experiment (85 h), resulting better the bimetallic catalyst.