To study the effects of La modifier on Ni/γ-Al2O3 catalysts for the hydrotreating of crude 2-ethylhexanol, four samples with various La contents were prepared by the hydrothermal deposition method and characterized by ICP–AES, XRD, XPS, TPR, and H2 chemisorption. It was found that the number of catalytic active sites of the four samples with a similar Ni loading follows the order: Ni/La0/Al (13.2μmol gcat-1) < Ni/La0.5/Al (15.1μmol gcat-1) < Ni/La2.0/Al (15.8μmol gcat-1) < Ni/La1.0/Al (17.1μmol gcat-1). The results indicate that the catalyst modified by an appropriate La can obtain more active centers and higher hydrogenation performance because it possesses a higher surface Ni content and an appropriate Ni dispersion degree.