AbstractEfficient depolymerization of natural lignin is the key step to convert lignin to sustainable and added‐value chemicals. In this paper, a carbon‐supported Ni‐Cu bimetallic catalyst was developed for the hydrogenation of poplar lignin and β‐O‐4 model compounds. Five Ni‐Cu bimetallic catalysts were prepared by immobilizing Ni and Cu at fixed Ni loading (5%) and varied Cu loading (0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%) on activated carbon (AC). All the Cu‐Ni/AC bimetal catalysts exhibited higher catalytic activity than either Ni/AC or Cu/AC catalysts. 5Ni‐5Cu/AC gave the highest bio‐oil yield of 40.2 wt% for the hydrogenation of. poplar lignin. The XPS, XRD, and HRTEM characterization of the catalysts showed that elemental copper and Cu‐Ni alloy were formed on the surface of 5Ni‐5Cu/AC catalyst, which could promote the efficient depolymerization of lignin into phenolic monomers. The possible mechanism for the lignin depolymerization was also studied and proposed based on the β‐O‐4 bond model compounds. This study provides a viable strategy for the conversion of lignin into added‐value chemicals with low cost catalyst.