Upgrading of vacuum residue is of prime industrial significance due to the increasing demand for light oils. Elucidating the effect of catalyst morphology on vacuum residue hydrotreating performance by kinetic modeling is therefore of great importance. Herein, kinetic analysis of hydrodemetallization (HDM) and hydrodeconradson-carbon-residue (HDCCR) performances on industrial Ni–Mo/Al₂O₃ catalysts with spherical and cylindrical morphologies in ebullated-bed were evaluated for more than 1600 h. It was found that the percentage of light impurities easier to be removed on spherical catalysts were 78.20% and 39.43% in HDM and HDCCR reactions, respectively, higher than 65.20% and 17.50% on cylindrical catalysts. This suggests that catalyst morphology affects the impurity removal ability and the impurity properties, resulting in better hydrotreating performance of spherical catalysts. This work not only combines catalyst morphology with impurity removal capability through kinetic modeling, but also provides new insights into the design of efficient hydrotreating catalysts.