A novel inorganic polymer titanium 2-[N-(2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethyl)]aminoethylphosphate (TiP) and its supported palladium complex (TiP-Pd) had been synthesized and characterized by IR, XPS, XRD, TG, SEM and TEM. The catalyst TiP-Pd was applied to the catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone in homogeneous ethanol phase and can be conveniently recovered with above 97% recovery by adding equal volume of petroleum ether. In the catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone, the selectivities to 1-phenylethanol and ethylbenzene was up to 93.3% at -20 degrees C and 100% at -20 to 40 degrees C, respectively under atmospheric hydrogen pressure. The catalyst TiP-Pd can be reused 11 times without the leaching of palladium ion and the sharp loss of catalytic activity. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.