Dichlorobis(3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyrone) Zr(IV) was grafted onto different inorganic supports, namely SiO2, MAO-modified SiO2, MCM-41, Al2O3, and MgO. The resulting supported catalysts were shown to be active in ethylene polymerization using methylaluminoxane (MAO) as the catalyst. Catalysts were characterized by Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) and nitrogen adsorption method. The highest catalyst activities were observed for the zirconium complex supported on MCM-41. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 118: 1561-1566, 2010