A process for the selective ring opening of ring-containing hydrocarbons in a feed stream having at least 10% ring-containing hydrocarbons includes contacting the feed stream with a ring opening catalyst containing a metal or a mixture of metals active for the selective ring opening of the ring-containing hydrocarbons on a support material, wherein the support material is a non-crystalline, porous inorganic oxide or mixture of inorganic oxides having at least 97 volume percent interconnected mesopores based on micropores and mesopores, and wherein the ring-containing hydrocarbons have at least one C.sub.6 ring and at least one substituent selected from the group consisting of fused 5- or 6-membered rings, alkyl, cycloalkyl and aryl groups.