Display omitted •A facile green chemical reduction approach was used to prepare Pd-graphene catalyst.•Raman, XPS and TEM analysis confirmed the synthesis of graphene decorated with Pd.•Pd/RGO-salicylic acid shows superior catalytic activity towards nitrobenzene reduction.•Pd-graphene catalyst has a remarkable turnover frequency for nitrobenzene reduction. A facile green chemical reduction approach is developed to synthesize palladium (Pd) nanoparticles (NPs) supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) using exfoliated graphite oxide as a precursor with various reducing agents, including salicylic acid, oxalic acid, ascorbic acid, NaOH and hydrazine hydrate. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transfer infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The catalytic performance has been examined for the reduction of nitrobenzene using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent under mild conditions. Our findings indicated that most of oxygen functionalities are removed using green chemical reduction approach associated with the good catalytic performance. The catalytic activity depends particularly on target concentration, catalyst loading and reaction time. The results of this research would develop a new one-pot synthesis avenue for the preparation of Pd/RGO nanocomposite materials and provides the application of Pd/RGO into the heterogeneous catalysis.