Hydrogenation saturation of phenanthrene (a typical component of coal tar) could not only improve the combustion performance of fuel oil, but also obtain the raw material for preparing high-energy-density fuel. Nickel-based catalysts have been considered promising catalysts for the hydrogenation saturation of phenanthrene due to their appealing capacity to activate phenanthrene molecules. However, the Ni derivation precursor greatly affects its hydrogenation activity. In this work, the NiAl