Vapor-phase catalytic dehydration of 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BDO) to produce 3-buten-2-ol (3B2OL) was investigated over several monoclinic ZrO 2 (m-ZrO 2) catalysts modified with alkaline earth metal oxides (MOs), such as SrO, BaO, and MgO, to compare with the previously reported CaO/m-ZrO 2. It was found that those modifiers enhanced the 3B2OL formation to the same level as CaO did by loading an appropriate MO content. Among all the tested catalysts, the BaO/m-ZrO 2 calcined at 800 o C with a low BaO content (molar ratio of BaO/ZrO 2 = 0.0452) shows the highest 2,3-BDO conversion (72.4%) and 3B2OL selectivity (74.4%) in the initial stage of 5 h at 350 o C. In order to characterize those catalysts, their catalytic activities, crystal structures, and basic properties were studied in detail. In X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiment, it was elucidated that highly dispersed M-O-Zr (M= Ca, Sr, and Ba) hetero-linkages were formed on the surface by loading these MOs onto m-ZrO 2 with an appropriate content and then calcining at 800 o C. It can be concluded that the M-O-Zr hetero-linkages generate the proper base-acid balance for the efficient formation of 3B2OL from 2,3-BDO.