In recent years, there has been great interest in the application of special nanoparticles on thermal oil recovery processes. In this article, based on nanotechnology, a new method for improving the performance of in-situ combustion process is presented. This work aims at studying the effect of engineered nanoparticles on the activation energy of crude oil oxidation reactions in relation to in-situ combustion processes. Similar to previous studies, three oxidation regions were observed in crude oil combustion in porous media and it was found that each particular nanoparticle has a different effect on each oxidation region. Results show a significant reduction in the activation energies of oxidation reactions, which is an indication of strong catalytic effect of nanoparticles. The catalytic efficiency of nanoparticles was found to be a function of nanoparticle type and concentration. From the results of this study, it can be pointed out that nanoparticles have the potential to be applied as an effective additive to improve in-situ combustion performance.