4 kinds of oil soluble transition metal catalysts were prepared， and the experiment was carried out to upgrade and reduce the viscosity of heavy oil， and the optimal catalyst and the best reaction conditions were selected. The results showed that ，in the condition that consumption of petroleum acid iron for 0.12%， the upgrading temperature 365℃， reaction time 40min， the viscosity of Lukeqin heavy oil fell to 125mPa?s from 17460mPa?s， the viscosity reduction rate of 99.28% . Compared with unupgraded heavy oil，the content of saturates of the upgraded oil increased by 17.61%，the content of resins decreased by 18.55%，the light fraction below 350℃ and 500℃ increased 9.82% and 29.45%, respectively. Increasing of light components of the upgraded oil is easy for pipeline transportation of heavy oil， and reduces the energy consumption.