Manganese oxides of different crystallinity, oxidation state and specific surface area have been used in the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide with ammonia between 385 and 575 K. MnO2 appears to exhibit the highest activity per unit surface area, followed by Mn5O8, Mn2O3, Mn3O4 and MnO, in that order. This SCR activity correlates with the onset of reduction in temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) experiments, indicating a relation between the SCR process and active surface oxygen. Mn2O3 is preferred in SCR since its selectivity towards nitrogen formation during this process is the highest. In all cases the selectivity decreases with increasing temperature. The oxidation state of the manganese, the crystallinity and the specific surface area are decisive for the performance of the oxides. The specific surface area correlates well with the nitric oxide reduction activity. The nitrous oxide originates from a reaction between nitric oxide and ammonia below 475 K and from oxidation of ammonia at higher temperatures, proven by using (NH3)-N-15. Participation of the bulk oxygen of the manganese oxides can be excluded, since TPR reveals that the bulk oxidation state remains unchanged during SCR, except for MnO, which is transformed into Mn3O4 under the applied conditions. In the oxidation of ammonia the degree of oxidation of the nitrogen containing products (N2, N2O, NO) increases with increasing temperature and with increasing oxidation state of the manganese. A reaction model is proposed to account for the observed phenomena.