α-Al2O3 having a high specific surface area of 72m2/g was first prepared by the thermal decomposition of diaspore at 530°C. However, its catalytic activity for isomerization of 1-butene was not recognized at all. On the contrary, γ-Al2O3 showed a conversion rate of ca. 70% despite its lower specific surface area of 55 m2/g compared with that of α-Al2O3. These findings indicate that the difference in the catalytic activity between γ-and α-Al2O3 is attributable not to the specific surface area, but to the coordination number of Al ions. Thus it was proved experimentally for the first time that octahedral Al sites in alumina are inactive for isomerization of 1-butene. A quantum-chemical study using an ab-initio MO method on the surface structure and electronic states of γ-Al2O3 explained satisfactorily the lower activity of octahedral Al sites compared with tetrahedral ones.