A series of Fe-based catalysts were prepared by impregnating activated carbon with the aqueous solution of ferric sulfate. These catalysts were employed to the hydroxylation of benzene to phenol using hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. Boehm titration and X-photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the catalysts. It was found that ferric species were mainly anchored on activated carbon via its interaction with surface carboxylic oxygen group. These supported ferric species was found catalytically active for the titled reaction. A benzene conversion of 19.6%, a phenol yield of 17.5% with a selectivity of 89.3% was obtained under optimized conditions: 303 K, atmospheric pressure, and using acetonitrile as the solvent. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.