Effective control and removal of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission from vehicles exhausts under leanburn condition is one of the most important targets in scientific research of environmental protection. A comprehensive introduction of NOx storage and reduction (NSR), the most promising lean-NOx control technology, is given including the SUM-Lip of NSR materials, catalytic activity and related reaction mechanisms. Emphasis is put on the novel multifunctional NSR catalysts, derived from hydrotalcite-like compounds, with characteristic of simultaneous NOx strorage-decomposition-reduction. Finally, future research directions in the area of lean-NOx control based on mixed oxide catalysts derived from hydrotalcite-like materials is also proposed. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.