CuO-MnO2-Fe2O3/gamma-Al2O3 (CMFA) SCR (selective catalytic reduction) catalyst prepared by improved impregnation method was studied for gas-phase mercury oxidation in a simulated coal combustion flue gas at typical SCR temperatures. Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET), X-ray Diffractogram (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the catalyst. The CMFA catalyst yielded more than 70% oxidation efficiency using a simulated flue gas (O-2, CO2, HCl, NO, SO2, H2O and balanced with N-2). A 3-day experiment indicated that CMFA had a long service life and would be promising in industrial applications. In the presence of O-2, an enhancing effect of HCl, NO and SO2 was observed. Without O-2, NO still promoted Hg-0 oxidation due to the formation of multi-activity NOx species. Meanwhile, SO2 had little effect on Hg-0 oxidation and HCl inhibited Hg-0 adsorption and subsequent oxidation. Hg-0 oxidation over the CMFA catalyst might follow the Eley-Rideal mechanism, where gaseous or weakly bonded Hg-0 reacted with adsorbed active species on the catalyst surface to generate Hg2+. Although NH3 would inhibit Hg-0 oxidation, once NH3 was cut off, the efficiency fully recovered. This study provided a promising method for simultaneous removal of NO and Hg-0 from coal-fired power plants. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.