The activities of a Pd catalyst supported on mesoporous Beta zeolite (Beta-H) were evaluated for the hydrogenation of naphthalene and pyrene in the absence and presence of 200-ppin sulfur and for the hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiophene (4,6-DMDBT). Compared with Pd/Al-MCM-41, the Pd/Beta-H catalyst exhibited better sulfur tolerance for hydrogenation of naphthalene and pyrene and higher activity for HDS of 4,6-DMDBT. The ratio of the hydrogenation of the second ring naphthalene in the absence and presence of 200-ppm, sulfur for Pd/Beta-H was larger than that for Pd/Al-MCM-41 (0.47 vs 0.19). The desulfurization effect of Pd/Beta-H was greater than that of Pd/Al-MCM-41 (51 vs 35%). The difference in sulfur tolerance and HDS ability of the 2 catalysts is attributed to the difference in support acidity. Beta-H exhibited more acidic sites and a higher percentage of strong acidic sites than Al-MCM-41 (552 mu mol/g and 43% vs 291 mu mol/g and 18%). (c) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.