Process for converting secondary and tertiary acetylenic carbinols to the corresponding alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds by rearranging the carbinol with (trilower alkyl-, tricycloalkyl-, triaryl- or triarylalkyl-siloxy)-vanadium oxide catalyst in the presence of a silanol where either the vanadium oxide or the silanol contains a phenyl group substituted with at least one electron withdrawing group.