CeO2 nanowires were synthesized via a facile synthesis method using PEO-PPO-PEO (P123) as the surfactant. Thermo gravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission election microscopy(TEM), selected election diffraction (SAED), energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH), were employed to characterize the samples. The obtained CeO2 nanowires have the diameters of 10-50 nm, the lengths of up to several micrometers, and some mesopores on the surface. CO conversion was used as a catalytic test reaction revealing that the activity of the nanowires was substantially higher than that of the commercial CeO2. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.