CeO2 particles confined within the pores of an SBA-15 mesoporous silica host were prepared by incipient wetness impregnation (IMP) and deposition precipitation (DP) methods. The materials were characterized by XRD, N-2-adsorption and temperature programmed reduction (TPR) to evaluate the structure, texture, and redox properties. The preparation procedure had significant impact on the assembling mode of CeO2 inside the SBA-15 mesopores. A high dispersion of CeO2 particles was achieved via DP, whereas the dispersion of CeO2 prepared by IMP was found to be inhomogeneous and CeO2 partially blocked the pores. The CO conversion in the water-gas-shift reaction was enhanced over 1 wt% Pt supported on CeO2-modified SBA-15 obtained by DP.