Metalloporphyrin catalysts are able to carry out selective oxidation of organic substrates with several oxidizing agents. Recently, mesoporous materials have been studied as supports because they present high specific surface area, better dispersion and regeneration properties. This work presents the results of synthesis, characterization and application of three metalloporphyrin catalysts (FeTPPCl, MnTPPCl and CoTPP, where TPP = tetraphenylporphyrin) anchored on MCM-41, in the reaction of cyclohexene oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. A modified sol-gel preparation was chosen for the synthesis of the MCM-41 mesoporous material, as well as the anchoring was followed by Soxhlet extraction to ensure strong adsorption of the complex. The supported materials were much more stable than pure metal loporphyrins. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by UV-vis, FTIR, XRD, ICP-AES, Si-29 MAS-NMR and thermal analysis, before and after incorporation. Evidence of the metalloporphyrin immobilization was confirmed by elemental analysis and their activity in the oxidation reaction. FeTPPCl/MCM-41 showed higher conversion than CoTPP/MCM-41 and MnTPPCl/MCM-41. However, MnTPPCl/MCM-41 even in low concentration on the support showed a good conversion for the direct oxidation of cyclohexene with the highest turnover number (1.54 x 10(5)). All catalysts showed similar selectivity that favors allylic oxidation products over epoxidation. No leaching of the metalloporphyrins was observed after the reaction. 0 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.