The effects of the support on active site formation and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity of Rh2P catalyst were examined, using metal oxides (MOx), such as SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, MgO and ZrO2, as the support. Rh2P was formed on MOx support after reduction of supported rhodium and phosphorus (Rh _ P) catalysts. However, differences in the formation temperatures of Rh2P were observed by changing the MOx support. Furthermore, the HDS activities of the supported Rh _ P catalysts strongly changed with higher reduction temperature. The order of HDS activities of Rh _ P/MOx catalysts reduced at optimal temperatures was SiO2 ~ TiO2 ~ Al2O3 MgO ZrO2. The TOF of Rh _ P/MOx catalysts was enhanced by increasing the reduction temperature to form Rh2P. The order of TOF of supported Rh2P catalysts was TiO2 ZrO2 Al2O3 SiO2 MgO, and this order disagreed with that of thiophene conversion. The high TOF of Rh _ P/TiO2 catalyst may be explained by formation of partially sulfided TiO2 in the HDS reaction. The low TOF of Rh _ P/MgO catalyst was attributed to the basicity of the support with low sulfur tolerance.