The structure and dispersion of the molybdenum sulfides supported on a NaY zeolite were studied using XAFS techniques. It was found that molybdenum sulfide species prepared by sulfiding vapor deposited Mo(CO)(6) or by sulfiding molybdenum oxide dimer species encaged in the zeolite are highly dispersed and thermally stabilized against sintering or restructuring. These molybdenum species are formed via molybdenum sulfide dimer species as an intermediate. On the other hand, with the molybdenum sulfide catalysts prepared by an impregnation method, the sulfidation of molybdenum oxides was incomplete. The molybdenum oxide species are suggested to be mainly located in the zeolite cavities after calcination, forming isolated molybdenum oxides in tetrahedral configurations. The molybdenum sulfide species prepared from Mo(CO)(6) showed much higher catalytic activities for thiophene hydrodesulfurization and butadiene hydrogenation than the molybdenum sulfides prepared by the impregnation, in conformity with a higher dispersion and higher fraction of the molybdenum sulfide species. It is demonstrated that in combination with metal carbonyl techniques, zeolite supports are very suitable for the preparation of highly dispersed molybdenum sulfides at a high Mo loading.