This paper presents the results of a study on the hydrogenation of cyclopentadiene on modified skeletal nickel catalysts. It is shown that the activity of multicomponent skeletal nickel catalysts in the hydrogenation of cyclopentadiene is largely due to the nature of the additives introduced into the initial alloy. The introduction of Cu, Pb, Ta, Zn, Mo-Cu, Bi and Mo into the alloy leads to an increase in the activity (W = 14-280 cm3/min g Ni) and selectivity (Ks = 0.93-0.99) of cyclopentadiene hydrogenation, additions of Cr, Ti, Sn and Cr-Cu have no significant effect. As a result, when cyclopentadiene is hydrogenated, an intermediate alkene, cyclopentene, is formed. This is due to the cyclic structure of cyclopentadiene, which causes the formation of identical cycloalkene molecules when hydrogen is added to any position. The saturation of cyclopentadiene is completely completed upon absorption of 1 mole of hydrogen, and cyclopentene can be obtained in high yield.