N-dodecil-N,N-dimethyl-3-amino-1-propan sulphonate was used for stabilizing gold nanoparticles in water that afforded Au/C (SB-Au/C) when immobilized on activated carbon. Characterization by XPS revealed a high atomic percentage of superficial gold (% at. Au(4f)/C(2s)), compared with other Au/C catalysts prepared by the immobilization of different sols. The activity of the SB-Au/C catalyst was found to be superior to that observed in the liquid-phase oxidation of ethylene glycol using other gold-on-carbon catalysts.