No-noble metal CeO2-TiO2 catalysts prepared by sol-gel method were developed and examined for catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of acetic acid. The structure of the catalysts was measured by BET, SEM, XRD, XPS and DTA-TG. We investigated the effect of the interactions of Ce and Ti on the structure of CeO2-TiO2 catalysts. The mechanisms of the relationships between the different content of Ti and the activity of CeO2-TiO2 catalysts were discussed. The results showed that the average crystal size of CeO2, decreased and the surface areas increased; the low valence of Ce3+ increase, and the chemisorbed oxygen slightly decreased with the increase of Ti content on the surface of CeO2-TiO2 catalysts. The order of the activity in CWAO of acetic acid followed: Ce/Ti 1/1 > Ce/Ti 3/1 > Ce/Ti 1/3 > Ce/Ti 511 > CeO2 > TiO2 > no catalyst. In CWAO of acetic acid, the optimal atomic ratio of Ce and Ti was 1, and the highest COD removal was over 64% at 230 degrees C, 5 MPa and 180 min reaction time over Ce/Ti 1/1 catalyst. The excellent activity and stability of CeO2-TiO2 catalysts was observed in our study. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.