In this study, asymmetric and symmetric Al2O3 hollow fibres were employed as a support of a 10% CuO/CeO2 catalyst in the development of an asymmetric hollow fibre reactor (AHFR) and a symmetric hollow fibre reactor (SHFR), respectively. The 10% CuO/CeO2 catalyst was successfully deposited in both Al2O3 hollow fibre substrates by the sol-gel Pechini method. The impregnated fibres were characterized by Ar permeability, Hg porosimetry, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution optical microscopy. The water gas shift (WGS) reaction was chosen as a sample reaction to compare the performances of both AHFR and SHFR with a traditional fixed bed reactor (FBR). The catalytic activity tests in the FBR were carried out using the powder ground from either the asymmetric or symmetric Al2O3 hollow fibre impregnated with 10% CuO/CeO2. Two different configurations, "dead-end" and "open-end", were studied in the AHFR and SHFR. The experimental results show that, despite the differences observed between the AHFR and SHFR, both reactors offer important advantages over conventional FBRs including high catalytic activity along with a better selectivity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.