Catalytic oxidation of n-hexane, benzene and 2-propanol was investigated on Au/CeO2/Al2O3 and Au/Al2O3 catalysts prepared from the deposition-precipitation method and characterised by XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-VIS and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. It is shown that ceria enhances the fixation and final dispersion of gold particles, leading to stabilise them in lower crystallite sizes. Catalytic results show that ceria improves the activity of gold particles in the oxidation of the tested volatile organic compounds (VOCs), probably by increasing the mobility of the lattice oxygen and controlling and maintaining the adequate oxidation state of the active gold particles.