Coliquefaction of coal and sawdust in the presence of catalysts was studied under cold hydrogen pressure from 2.04 to 4.76 MPa in the temperature range of 300-400 degreesC. In terms of overall conversion, yields and increment values from comparisons, investigations were made on catalysts of the sulfides of Fe, Ni and Cu and the methods of catalyst preparation. As economics of the technological process is concerned, a catalyst of ferric sulfide is preferred, apart from its advantages over the catalyst of nickel sulfides in catalytic effects under three sets of reaction conditions from our experiments. The optimal operation conditions were concluded for the preferred catalyst FeSx,. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.