Catalytic properties of polymer-stabilized colloidal metal nanoparticles synthesized by microwave irradiation were studied in the selective hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes, o-chloronitrobenzene and the hydrogenation of alkenes. The results show that nanosized metal particles synthesized by microwave irradiation have similar catalytic performance in selective hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes, better selectivity to o-chloroaniline in hydrogenation of o-chloronitrobenzene and higher catalytic activities in hydrogenation of alkenes, compared with metal clusters prepared by conventional heating. The same apparent activation energy (Ea = 29 kJ mol-1) for hydrogenation of 1-heptene catalyzed with platinum nanoparticles prepared by both heating modes implied that the reaction followed the same mechanism.