Mixed metal oxides were used for the removal of hydrogen sulfide from a hot gas stream. Sorbents were prepared according to the dry and wet impregnation techniques. The desulfurization performance of the metal oxide sorbents was experimentally tested in a fluidized-bed reader system. Sulfidation experiments performed under reaction conditions similar to those at the exit of a coal gasifier showed that the preparation procedure and technique, the type and the amount of the impregnated metal oxide, the type of the solid carrier, and the size of the solid reactant affect the H2S removal capacity of the sorbents. The pore structure of fresh and sulfided sorbents was analyzed using mercury porosimetry, nitrogen adsorption, and scanning electron microscopy.