Iron oxide catalysts containing metal promoters were tested to evaluate whether they could be applied to the coal tar obtained from the pyrolysis of Loy Yang coal. Catalytic cracking of the coal tar in a steam atmosphere was conducted in a fixed-bed reactor at 773 K and ambient atmospheric pressure. For iron oxide catalysts containing cerium, zirconium, and aluminium, the total yield of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, and ketones exceeded 40 mol-C% on a tar basis, while about 97 wt.% of the initial heavy tar was decomposed. The combination of cerium, zirconium, and aluminium improved the activity of the iron oxide catalyst. Moreover, the addition of steam to the tar vapour increased the yield of ketones and made the catalyst more durable. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.