Preparation of catalysts for the hydrogenation of acetylene-alcohols

A process for the preparation of a hydrogenation catalyst containing the oxides of the metals nickel, copper and molybdenum, with or without manganese, by precipitating a solution of salts of the metals with an alkali metal carbonate, filtering the resulting suspension and washing, drying and heating the filter residue, wherein an aluminum salt and/or iron salt is added to the metal salt solution, the precipitation is carried out at from 35.degree. to 95.degree. C. and a pH of from 5 to 9 and the heating is carried out at from 350.degree. to 700.degree. C., and the amount of metal salts is so chosen that, after heating, the catalyst consists of from 5 to 70 percent by weight of aluminum oxide and/or iron oxide, the remainder being principally nickel oxide and, based on nickel oxide, from 20 to 40 percent by weight of copper oxide, from 0.5 to 6 percent by weight of molybdenum oxide and from 0 to 10 percent by weight of manganese oxide.