The influence of the preparation methods on the catalytic activity for CO oxidation was markedly large for Au-TiO2 and negligible for Pt-TiO2 catalysts. Platinum and gold were deposited on TiO2 by deposition-precipitation (DP), photodeposition (FD) and impregnation (IMP). The DP method gave the most active catalysts for both Pt and Au. Gold catalysts prepared by DP were active at temperatures below 273 K and showed a much greater activity than Pt catalysts.