Novel titania supports have been designed and elaborated with the hydrolysis precipitation method, by adjusting and controlling of the main preparation parameters, such as pH value, adding rate of tetrabutyl titanate Ti(OBu)4, and calcining temperature of precursor during support preparation. The new titania supported Pd catalysts were prepared and investigated for selective hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene. The catalyst samples have been characterized by temperature programmed reduction (TPR), XRD and BET tech- niques. The experimental results indicated that with MgO modication, the improved catalyst (0.5%Pd–MgO/TiO2) showed better performance of high and stable activity. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.