This work sought to investigate the synthesis and the characterization of catalysts that have alumina spheres (Al2O3) impregnated with ceria and zirconia (CeO2-ZrO2) as support applied in methane combustion, in order to evaluate their capacity to reduce the emission of nitrogen compounds and carbon monoxide. The methodology used for the synthesis of the Ce-Zr alumina supports and the catalysts passed through the following stages: synthesis and physical chemistry characterization of the support (Al2O3); impregnation of the supports with Ce-Zr; characterization of the obtained material and evaluation of the catalytic activity. The results indicate that the sol-gel methodology can be used in order to obtain catalysts in spheroidal form and that the impregnation of the catalyst on the surface of the alumina spheres was good. The catalytic activity of the impregnated supports was significant, mainly for samples impregnated with 10 and 30 mol% of Zr and thermally treated at 700 degrees C. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.