Composition for use in a magnetically fluidized bed

As a composition of matter, particulate material which can be formed into a magnetically stabilized fluidized bed to provide high magnetization at a low applied field which comprises particles of average size ranging from about 10 .mu.m to about 4,000 .mu.m containing a non-ferromagnetic refractory, porous inorganic oxide component composited with a plurality of elongated ferromagnetic components, each ferromagnetic component being multidomain, having dimensions of at least 1 .mu.m in all directions, elongated in two directions, and having a length:dimaeter (L/D) ratio of at least 2 and not more than 313, said ferromagnetic components being present in the composite particles as inclusions within said non-ferromagnetic refractory porous inorganic oxide component, and randomly oriented and constituting at least 0.5%, but not more than .pi./2(L/D+1), of the total volume of each particle, where L/D is the average ratio of the longest dimension of the ferromagnetic components relative to the shortest dimension, wherein a catalytically effective amount of a catalytically active metal is dispersed on the surface of the composite particles, and the composite particles are catalytically active.