The catalytic activity of iron phosphate in the oxidative dehydrogenation of lactic acid increases markedly by doping of a small amount of palladium (Pd) on the surface. At the beginning of the reaction, the selectivity of the Pd-doped catalysts to form pyruvic acid is very low, i.e. the main products are carbon oxides. However, as the time-on-stream increases, the selectivity increases gradually. After about 8 h on stream, the selectivity reaches the level of neat iron phosphate (80 mol%). On the other hand, the activity remains almost unchanged with a large variation in the time-on-stream. For example, the iron phosphate doped with 0.8 wt.% Pd is 10 times more active than the neat iron phosphate.