Vacuum residue cracking has been successfully conducted under supercritical water condition in presence of various metal oxide nanocalysts, namely NiO, CuO, ZnO, Co2O3, and Cr2O3 synthesized at supercritical water. The cracking experiments were carried out at 450 degrees C. Three species of cracking: maltene, asphaltene, and coke were then weighed and their corresponding speciation was defined. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and elemental analysis (CHNS) tests were utilized to prove the performance of upgrading reactions. It was revealed that NiO showed the best performance among other catalyst, in which its activity and stability in catalytic cracking changed slightly. According to the results obtained from GC-MS, NMR, TGA, and CHNS anlyses, it was confirmed that the proportion of heavy hydrocarbons of products (i.e. non-catalytic and catalytic reactions) was lower than that of feedstock. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.