Guaiacol (GUA) is extensively used as the model compound in catalytic studies of lignin, a most abundant renewable aromatic resource in nature. However, GUA is not easy to obtain good activity and selectivity in the hydrodeoxygenation reaction due to its complex structure with various reaction possibilities. So far, researchers have done great efforts to develop efficient catalysts and reaction processes for breakthroughs. This paper reviewed the research progress of transition metal catalysts and noble metal catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation of GUA, and discussed the reaction pathways and the factors which may affect the catalytic behavior, particularly focusing on their catalytic conversions of GUA to phenol or cyclohexanol through C_AR-O bond cleavages and aromatic ring saturation. A prospect regarding the future research directions on the catalyst improvement and reaction process optimization were also presented.