Production of hydrogen (H2) from biomass and organic wastes is considered an effective approach to mitigating the environmental problems caused by pollutant emissions from fossil fuel combustion and allaying our dependence on the limited oil reserves. However, current technological inefficiencies render such biomass utilization economically unviable. Recently, Pt/gamma-alumina catalysts have been demonstrated for liquid phase conversion of various carbohydrates into hydrogen. However, to make the process economically attractive, catalysts with higher performance need to be developed. In this study, particulate Pt-loaded NaY zeolite (Pt/NaY) catalysts were synthesized and tested for H2 production by liquid phase reforming of carbohydrates (CH). The catalytic performance (i.e. CH conversion rate, H2 productivity, and H2 selectivity) of the Pt/NaY catalysts was evaluated and compared with the state-of-the-art Pt/gamma-alumina catalysts. The Pt/NaY catalysts with a Pt load of 0.5wt.% exhibited catalytic performance comparable to or better than the Pt/gamma-alumina with a Pt load of 2.9wt.% in liquid phase conversion of methanol and ethanol solutions at 498 – 538 K. However, the Pt/NaY catalyst was found to be incapable of reforming glucose because the NaY zeolite pores are not accessible to the ringed glucose molecules in liquid phase. The results of this study show that the transition-metal/zeolite catalysts are promising for applications in hydrogen generation from biomass because of their high performance and low cost.