In order to improve the hydrothermal stability and acid resistance of the catalyst for the hydrogenation of levulinic acid (LA) to γ-valerolactone (GVL) in aqueous system, the Ru/SiC catalyst (Ru3/SiC) with a Ru loading capacity of 3% (mass fraction based on SiC mass) was prepared by a sample impregnation-reduction process. TEM, XRD, XPS, H2-TPR and H2-TPD were used to characterize the structure and surface effects of the catalysts. The catalytic performances of Ru catalysts with different support ( SiC, graphene, TiO2，ZrO2、SiO2、Al2O3) for the hydrogenation of LA were investigated. The influences of reaction conditions (reaction temperature, time, hydrogen pressure and solvent) on the hydrogenation of LA catalyzed by Ru3/SiC were studied. The results show that Ru nanoparticles (0.22 nm) in Ru3/SiC are mainly dispersed uniformly on the SiC surface in the form of Ru0. Compared with other supported Ru-based catalysts, Ru3/SiC showed higher catalytic activity for LA hydrogenation in water under mild conditions of 50 ℃, 0.2 MPa H2 for 2 h, and LA conversion rate and GVL selectivity are close to 100%. Moreover, Ru3/SiC activity did not decrease significantly after 5 cycles. The high catalytic activity of Ru3/SiC is due to the electron transfer through Mott-Schottky junction between Ru and SiC. The electron-rich Ru nanoparticles are favorable for H2 dissociation, thus enhancing the catalytic activity for hydrogenation reaction of LA.