The reduction of nitrate to nitrogen is a key process for nitrate removal in water. Among others bimetallic, palladium tin catalysts are well suited for this purpose. In the present study Pd-Sn catalysts are used and characterized in the mentioned process. Alumina and silica supported catalysts were prepared by deposition of tin onto palladium particles by using controlled surface reaction. The accessibility of palladium and the amount of reducible tin are tested by O-2/H-2/O-2 titration. The structural characterization is based on Sn-119 Mossbauer spectroscopy, TEM, XRD, and catalytic performances are tested in nitrate and nitrite reductions at room temperature. Remarkably, the properties of Pd-Sn/Al2O3 and Pd-Sn/SiO2 are different, although they were prepared according to the same procedure. Namely, the silica supported catalyst is more stable and selective, but is less active than the alumina supported one. This could be explained by the difference of (i) the interaction between the two metals and (ii) the affinity of tin with the support depending on the support used. The characterization results are interpreted with respect to the catalytic behavior of the materials. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.