Supported metal catalysts, particularly noble metals supported on SiO2, have attracted considerable attention due to the importance of the silica-metal interface in heterogeneous catalysis and in electronic device fabrication. Several important issues, e.g., the stability of the metal-oxide interface at working temperatures and pressures, are not well-understood. In this review, the present status of our understanding of the metal-silica interface is reviewed. Recent results of model studies in our laboratories on Pd/SiO2/Mo(1 1 2) using LEED, AES and STM are reported. In this work, epitaxial, ultrathin, well-ordered SiO2 films were grown on a Mo(1 1 2) substrate to circumvent complications that frequently arise from the silica-silicon interface present in silica thin films grown on silicon. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.