We have developed a new hybrid material, featuring single-site phenolic functions on a silica surface. This new material was used for the grafting, by surface organometallic chemistry, of tungsten perhydrocarbyl and molybdenum bispyrrolide alkylidene complexes. Dramatic improvements in terms of activity and stability were observed in propylene metathesis, when compared to the silica counterpart. Introducing a phenolic spacer between the active molybdenum center and the surface enhances the stereoselectivity towards the Z isomer. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.