Molybdenum carbide (Mo 2 C and Ni/Mo 2 C) catalysts were compared with Pd/SiO 2 for the hydrogenation of several diene molecules, 1,3-butadiene, 1,3and 1,4-cyclohexadiene (CHD). Compared to Pd/SiO 2 , Mo 2 C showed similar hydrogenation rate for 1,3-butadiene and 1,3-CHD and even higher rate for 1,4-CHD, but with significant deactivation rate for 1,3-CHD hydrogenation. However, the hydrogenation activity of Mo 2 C could be completely regenerated by H 2 treatment at 723 K for the three molecules. The Ni modified Mo 2 C catalysts retained similar activity for 1,3-butadiene hydrogenation with significantly enhanced selectivity for 1-butene production. The 1-butene selectivity increased with increasing Ni loading below 15%. Among the Ni modified Mo 2 C catalysts, 8.6%Ni/Mo 2 C showed the highest selectivity to 1-butene, which was even higher selectivity than that over Pd/SiO 2 . Compared to Pd/SiO 2 , both Mo 2 C and Ni/Mo 2 C showed combined advantages in hydrogenation activity and catalyst cost reduction, demonstrating the potential to use less expensive carbide catalysts to replace precious metals for hydrogenation reactions.