A successive anchoring of Zr(NMe2)(4), cyclopentadiene and a O-donor ligand, 1-hydroxyethylbenzene (PEA), 1,1'-bi-2 naphthol (Binol) or 2,3-dihydroxybutanedioic acid diethyl ester (Tartrate), on dehydroxylated SBA-15 pretreated at 500 degrees C for 16h (SBA-15(-500)) was conducted by SOMC strategy in moderate conditions. The dehydoxylation of SBA-15 was monitored by in situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (in situ FT-IR). The ligand-modified SBA-15(-500) supported zirconium complexes were characterized by in situ FT-IR, C-13 CP MAS-NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MAS) and elemental analysis in detail, verifying that the surface zirconium species are single-sited. The catalytic activity of these complexes was evaluated by cyanosilylation of benzaldehyde. The results showed that the catalytic activity is dependent strongly on the structure of surface species and the configuration of the ligands. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.