The supported Pt and WOx catalysts are widely studied for the hydrogenolysis of glycerol to 1,3-propanediol. Nevertheless, the promoting role of W species remains unclear owing to the complexity in ternary hybrid catalysts. Herein, tungsten oxides (WO3 .0.33H(2)O) with the varying quantities of oxygen vacancy (V-o) were successfully synthesized and directly used as a support for loading Pt. The platinum loading high oxygen vacancies (H-WO3) containing V-o in abundance showed much higher catalytic activity and selectivity than that for low oxygen vacancies (L-WO3). The uniform dispersion of Pt particles, the high acidity, and the strong Pt and support interaction observed on Pt/H-WO3 are associated with the existence of V-o in a large amount, resulting in the significant enhancement in the catalytic performance. A plausible model for glycerol hydrogenolysis on Pt/ H-WO3 was proposed, wherein the unsaturated W ions coordinate with two terminal -OH groups of a glycerol molecule, and the secondary -OH group was protonated by the B acid from the Pt-(WOx)(n)-H as well as the in situ generated H delta+ species.