Iron carbide promoted K/beta-Mo(2)C catalysts were prepared and tested for higher alcohols synthesis. The results revealed that beta-Mo(2)C produced mainly hydrocarbons, but the addition of potassium resulted in a remarkable selectivity shift from hydrocarbons to alcohols and then a higher selectivity to C(2)(+)OH over beta-Mo(2)C. Moreover, it was found that iron carbide further enhanced the selectivity of higher alcohols, showing the optimum at 1/6 of Fe/Mo molar ratio. The corresponding characterization suggested that there might be a synergistic effect of iron carbide and K/beta-Mo(2)C, i.e. the formation of "K-Fe-Mo-C" species which favored the alcohols synthesis. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.