We have prepared active carbon supported beta-Mo2C using MoCl5 as precursor. The supported precursor was carburized in a flow of H-2 or of a mixture of CH4/H-2 at the final temperature of 923 or 723 K. The catalysts obtained were characterized by XRD and TEM techniques and tested in the reaction of propene hydrogenation. The degree of carburization strongly depended on the final temperature and carbiding atmosphere. The catalysts were very active in the test reaction and a correlation was established between their lifetime and carbiding conditions. It was also shown that the catalysts could be regenerated and their stability increased by hydroprocessing. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.