A series of the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2/Al2O3/FeCrAl monolithic catalysts (x=0-1) were prepared. The structure of the catalysts was characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). The catalytic activity of the catalysts for the methane combustion was evaluated with a fixed bed reactor. The results showed that in the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2/Al2O3/FeCrAl catalysts the phase structure was the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2 solid solutions, alpha-Al2O3 and gamma-Al2O3. The molar ratio of Ce to Lain the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2 solid solutions significantly influenced the surface particle shape and size of the catalysts. The catalytic activity for the methane combustion strongly depended on the La component of the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2/Al2O3/FeCrAl catalysts, and the order of the catalytic activity in terms of x was 0.7>0.9>0.5>0.3>0>1. TPR analyses of the catalysts revealed the existence of a strong interaction among the Ce1-xLaxO2-x/2 solid solutions, the Al2O3 washcoats and the FeCrAl support. This interaction remarkably enhanced the redox properties of the catalysts resulting in the higher catalytic activity. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.