Ni/Cu/Al/Fe hydrotalcite-like compound was synthesized by a co-precipitation method. The activity of the reduced hydrotalcite-like precursor for the hydrogenation of fructose was investigated. The effects of various reaction conditions on the production of sorbitol and mannitol were investigated in detail. The properly high reduction temperature could obviously enhance catalyst activity. XRD and XPS tests provided the essential properties of the precursor and prepared catalyst. A catalyst recycling experiment demonstrated that Ni4.63Cu1Al1.82Fe0.79 was a better magnetic catalyst and it could be reused more than three times. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.