A series of rare earth metals supported on carbon nanotube (CNT) were tested for the catalytic depolymerization of lignin. The supported cerium (Ce) and lanthanum (La) on CNT were firstly characterized by TEM and N-2-BET, respectively. The as-prepared catalysts were efficient to depolymerize lignin, whereas 86.1% liquefied fuel yield was obtained at the conditions of 260 degrees C,1 h with Ce/CNT catalyst. The catalyst presented high activity even after four times recycle and the yield of liquefied fuel still kept 82.0%. The liquefied fuel were evaluated to be a premium fuel with high contents of C and H and low content of O, together with high calorific value. From these tested results, it is clear to find that Ce/CNT is an effective catalyst which can depolymerize lignin under mild conditions. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.