Nickel catalysts supported on Al2O3-TiO2 sol-gel mixed oxides were prepared by equilibrium wet impregnation (EWI) and the resulting oxidic precursors were characterized by AAS, N-2 physisorption, XRD and UV-Vis DRS. By varying the support composition different nickel speciation on the calcined precursors was evidenced. The main role of TiO2 appeared to be two-fold: (a) inhibition of the formation of hardly reducible spinel-like species and (b) increased dispersion of the metallic phase (as determined by H-2 chemisorption). For equimolar Al2O3-TiO2 supports a H-2 chemisorption suppresion effect in the case of similar to10 wt.% Ni catalyst suggested an strong metal support interaction state (SMSI). By increasing the metal loading (similar to20 wt.%) this phenomenon was no longer observed and a beneficial influence of the support composition on the properties of the metallic phase was registered. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.