CuO, CeO2 oxide were prepared by combustion method and CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide was prepared by impregnation method. The characteristics of CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide were examined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2- temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR). H2-TPR results indicated that there are two CuO species in the mixed oxide: the Cu2+ is mostly exist in the finely dispersed CuO species on the surface of CeO2 and the left in CuxCel-xO2-x solid solution. The calculating results from Powder Cell 2.4 software showed that, when CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide was formed, the cell parameter values of CeO2 was smaller than that of pure CeO2, indicating that some CuO entered the CeO2 lattice. The catalytic activity of CuO, CeO2 and CuO-CeO2 mixed oxide for the phenol oxidation at low temperature (70-80°C) have been investigated. The results show that the activities of the surfacedispersed copper species are greatly enhanced due to the presence of ceria, whether it was used as s support. The activities decrease in the order CuO-CeO2 CuO CeO2.