Highly dispersed NiO/graphene composite material with the size of about 3-4 nm nanoparticles (NPs) and the high specific surface area of 244.2 m(2) g(-1) is synthesized by using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as template. The unique two-dimensional structure of graphene plays a crucial role for keeping the Ni species with a nanosheet structure during the solvothermal process. The prepared NiO/graphene composite exhibits superior catalytic activity in benzene hydrogenation. The enhanced catalytic performance can be attributed to steadily dispersed NiO NPs and the strong interactions between NiO NPs and RGO. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.