Powders of lanthanum manganite partially substituted on the lanthanum site by strontium and on the manganese site by zirconium were obtained by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET and temperature-programmed techniques. The insertion of zirconium in the structure was verified by Mn titration and cell volume calculations. The obtained specific surface areas were between 11 and 16 m(2) g(-1) depending on the composition. Catalytic activity measurements were performed for the deep oxidation of propene. The activity decreased when increasing the amount of zirconium. This was linked to the reinforcement of the oxygen bound on the catalyst as demonstrated by temperature-programmed desorption techniques. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.