Abstract The present review focused on recent progress on the applications of nano-carbon materials in highly efficient catalytic systems, as supports or catalysts themselves. The main contents included: the effect of surface physical chemical property on the loading ability or catalytic activity of nano-carbon materials, the applications of nano-carbon materials as efficient catalysts in heterogeneous liquid, gas phase or electro catalytic systems, the understanding of the mechanism and nature of the catalytic reaction. Through a systematic summary of the progress, the main research interests of related fields should focus on the study of quantitative description of the catalytic process, such as catalytic kinetics at molecular or atomic level. On the basis of related fundamental research results, combining the development of controllable large scale synthesis technique, nano-carbon catalysis exhibits great potential in industrial applications.
