The effect of the support, Al2O3 or SiO2, on the catalytic behaviour of Cr-ZnO promoted Pt catalysts has been studied in the liquid phase hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde. A model Pt/Cr-ZnO catalyst has been used as a reference. H2PtCl6 in aqueous solution has been used as platinum precursor for the synthesis of catalysts. They have been calcined at 773 K and reduced at two different temperatures, 473 and 623 K. before the determination of their catalytic behaviour. It has been shown that the support greatly affects the properties and characteristic behaviour of the final catalysts. A higher promoter dispersion was achieved on the silica-supported sample, which favoured a high selectivity towards the unsaturated alcohol. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.