High surface area Cu-Cr catalysts had been prepared via a facile carbon template route, and characterized by N-2 physisorption, temperature-programmed reduction, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The catalytic properties of the nanostructured Cu-Cr catalysts were evaluated by glycerol hydrogenolysis. The results show that the specific surface area of the obtained Cu-Cr catalyst can reach above 50 m(2)/g, while those of CuO and Cr2O3 are about 10 and 50 m(2)/g, respectively. The surface areas of Cu-Cr catalysts can be controlled by carbon template, Cu/Cr molar ratio, and treatment atmosphere and final temperature. The reduced Cu-Cr catalysts show significant catalytic activity and selectivity in glycerol hydrogenolysis, i.e. above 51% conversion of glycerol and above 96% selectivity to 1,2-propanediol in 4.15 MPa H-2 at 210 A degrees C. The Cu-Cr catalysts with low Cu/Cr molar ratio present high conversion of glycerol, which is different from the conventional copper-chromite catalyst.