Cold catalyst supported on mesoporous carbon and silica were synthesized, characterized by TEM, XRD, XPS and tested in linoleic acid isomerization. Nature of the support affects the selectivity towards isomerization in relation to unwanted hydrogenation. In particular carbon support allowed much higher selectivity in double bond migration compared to silica. Effect of carbon surface oxidative pre-treatment on selectivity of catalyst was investigated. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.