Bromate is recognized as an oxyhalide disinfection byproduct in drinking water. In this study, supported noble metal (Pd, Pt) catalysts with different supports of SiO2, Al2O3 and activated carbon (AC) were prepared and the catalytic hydrogenation of aqueous bromate was first investigated. Characterization results showed the isoelectric points (IEPs) of Pd/SiO2 and Pd/Al2O3 catalysts were around 2.0 and 8.0, respectively, whereas the IEP of Pd/AC was much lower than 2.0. In comparison with Pd/SiO2 and Pd/AC, Pd/Al2O3 exhibited a substantially higher catalytic activity at pH 5.6 for bromate reduction due to the electrostatic attractive interaction between the bromate ion and the catalyst. Moreover, bromate with an initial concentration of 0.39 mM was removed by 80.2% over Pt/Al2O3 and nearly 100% over Pd/Al2O3 after reaction for 2 h, indicative of a higher catalytic activity of Pd/Al2O3. For Pd/Al2O3, the bromate reduction followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model, reflecting an adsorption controlled reduction mechanism. Increasing Pd loading amount resulted in enhanced bromate reduction. In addition, the bromate reduction was found to be strongly pH-dependent and enhanced reduction rate could be achieved at low pH. In the presence of coexisting anions (Cl-, Br- and SO42-) the bromate reduction was suppressed, wherein SO42- exhibited the most marked inhibition effect, attributed to competitive adsorption for active surface sites. The present results indicate that catalytic hydrogenation can be used as a potential treatment technique for the removal of bromate in drinking water. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.