Halonitroaromatic compounds, e.g., 3-chloro-4-fluoronitrobenzene, are selectively hydrogenated into the corresponding haloaromatic amines, in the essential absence of hydrodehalogenation, by reacting same with hydrogen in the presence of a catalytically effective amount of a novel Raney-type catalyst composition consisting essentially of an alloy of nickel, aluminum and molybdenum, Ni/Al/Mo, the Al/Mo ratio by weight thereof being equal to or greater than 1.