The development of effective and stable non-precious catalysts for hydrogenation of ester to diols remains a challenge. Herein, the catalytic hydrogenation of ethyl lactate (EL) to 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) with supported Co catalysts derived from layered double hydroxides (LDHs) is investigated. Catalytic tests reveal that LDH-derived Co catalysts exhibit the best catalytic performance with 98 % of EL conversion and >99 % of 1,2-PDO selectivity at mild conditions, compared with other Co catalysts (supported on Al 2 O 3 , and TiO 2 ) and LDH-derived Cu catalysts. Due to the strong interaction among Co and Al matrix, the main composition is metallic Co 0 and CoO after reduction at 600 °C. Besides, the catalyst shows good recyclability in the liquid phase hydrogenation. The superior catalytic performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect between Co 0 and CoO, in which H 2 molecule is activated on Co 0 and EL is strongly adsorbed on CoO via hydroxyl groups.