Three different aluminum salts were used in the hydrothermal synthesis of boehmite. The salts employed were sulfate, chloride and nitrate. The prepared boehmites were calcined to obtain gamma-Al2O3, then these supports were used to prepare NiMo/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts and their activity was measured in the hydrotreating of Maya crude oil. The results showed that various key properties related to hydrotreating capability can be modified by using different precursor salts in the hydrothermal synthesis route of Al2O3 support. In this sense, in addition to pore diameter, the acidity of the alumina support plays an important role. To assess the acidity of each catalyst, additional reaction tests of the hydrocracking of cumene in a microreactor were performed. The catalysts were characterized by N-2 physisorption, XRD, FT-IR, SEM, HRTEM, and TPR.