The mechanical strength statistics for porous spherical alumina based on the large sample size is considered. The Weibull and Gamma distributions have been used to describe mechanical strength of uniform alumina granules obtained by the oil-drop method. The suitability of distributions for the mechanical strength of spherical alumina has been verified by two goodness-of-fit tests: Lilliefors-corrected Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Pearson's chisquared test. Distribution parameters were calculated by the maximum likelihood estimation. It has been demonstrated that the Weibull distribution should not be employed for a statistical description of the mechanical strength of porous alumina. The alumina mechanical strength appear to follow the Gamma distribution. Advantages of using the Gamma distribution have been discussed. The main recommendations have been formulated when using a statistical approach for describing a strength of catalysts and supports based on alumina. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.