Upgrading of pyrolysis bio-oil by a novel catalytic hydrotreating process, including hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) and hydrodenitrogenation (HDN) was found as an effective technical method for the improvement of biofuel characteristics. In this study, for the first time, the performance of a novel meso-microporous composite material, HMS-ZSM-5, as a support on the catalytic activity of NiMo-based catalysts in the bio-oil hydrotreating was evaluated. The experiments were carried out in a flow fixed-bed reactor at the temperature range of 300-360 degrees C, 30 bar pressure, and LHSV = 4 h-1. Also, the results were and compared with those of HMS, ZSM-5, and gamma-Al2O3 supports. For all catalysts, the increase in temperature resulted in the enhancement of HDO and HDN reactions efficiency. NiMo/ HMS-ZSM-5 possessed a high acid property which contributed to the removal of oxygen and nitrogen from bio-oil, with the conversion of 84.10% and 69.60%, respectively. Therefore, the novel catalyst of this study represented much superior upgrading performances compared with those of stand-alone NiMo/HMS and NiMo/ZSM-5 catalysts and also the conventional catalyst of NiMo/gamma-Al2O3. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.