In the present work, novel catalysts-Pd nanoparticles loaded on glass beads with an egg-shell structure were prepared through the combination of the subcritical water treatment process and the ion-exchange method. SEM and TEM images showed that the Pd nanoparticles loaded on the shell with depth of approximately 3-4 mu m were highly monodispersed with an average diameter of 4 nm. The conversion of enthylanthraquinone as much as 60% was realized in less than 2 s, besides, the space-time yield of the hydrogenation of ethylanthraquinone reached as high as 3800 g(H2O2)/g(pd)/h, and the hydrogenation efficiency was 11.2g(H2O2)/L-working (solution) with the novel catalyst. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.