Characteristics of the porous permeable ceramics obtained from natural sources of Komi Republic have been studied. The method of surface self-propagating high-temperature synthesis has been adapted to form a catalytically active layer on the surface of a porous ceramic support. It has been shown that high activity of the synthesized CuO-Co3O4-CeO2/kaolin and CuO-Co3O4-CeO2/cordierite catalytic membranes is due to even distribution of highly dispersed active components both on the surface and in the bulk of microfiltration ceramics.