The aim of this work is to use magnetic measurements as a research tool in the study of possible metal-support interactions in nickel and cobalt nanoporous catalysts. Several physicochemical techniques, namely nitrogen adsorption, X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed reduction and chemical analysis, were used to analyze the role of the preparation method and the nature of the support on the existence of such metal-support interactions and to relate them with the magnetic response of these nanoporous systems. The catalysts were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation and precipitation-deposition with two commercial oxides, gamma-Al2O3 and SiO2, as supports. The magnetic behavior of the catalysts is drastically affected by the existence of interactions between the metal and the support during the preparation procedure. The samples with weak metal-support interactions have characteristic magnetic behavior of antiferromagnetic metal oxide nanoparticles, while the ones having strong interactions display spin-glass like behavior.