Catalytic reduction of 4-benzyloxy-6-methylpyrimidine 1-oxide in methanol over palladium-carbon resulted in the formation of 6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol via 4-hydroxy-6-methylpyrimidine 1-oxide. The use of Raney nickel as a catalyst in this case afforded 4-benzyloxy-6-methylpyrimidine and this is a new type of reaction not recorded in past literature.