Statistics for The direct conversion of benzene to phenol by hydroxylation with hydrogen peroxide was carried out over catalyst containing various transition metals impregnated on activated carbon. Iron and vanadium impregnated catalysts gave better yields of phenol compared to copper impregnated catalysts. The activity of transition metals supported on activated carbon catalyst in the production of phenol was V > Fe > Cu. In addition to the role of transition metals in catalyzing the hydroxylation reaction, the hydrophobic nature of the activated carbon surface and also the surface acidity and basicity seems to have enhanced the performance of these catalysts. © 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.