The Thermal Programmed Desorption (TPD) of hydrogen from a Pt powder and from Pt/γ- or α-Al 2O 3, Pt/γ-Al 2O 3 with SO 4 2− ions, Pt/SiO 2, Pt/MgO and Pt/C catalysts was studied in the range 300–800 K. The samples either chemisorbed H 2 at 300 K or were heated at T C ⩽800 K in H 2 and cooled to 300 K in H 2, before drawing the TPD curves. After H 2 chemisorption at 300 K, a simple TPD peak was observed ( T M∼410 K) with a net area proportional to the number of Pt atoms exposed. The TPD spectra as obtained after heating and cooling in H 2 were much more complex, giving evidence of contributions of the metallic impurities (Fe) present in the supports; of the sulfur (common poison of Pt); of the carbon (which gives a large uptake of H 2), and finally of the partial or total conversion of the low temperature desorbing H from Pt to a high temperature desorbing H form ( T M∼750 K). Possibilities of correlation between the TPD spectra, and the kinetics of sintering or catalytic activities, for the Pt supported catalysts, are discussed.