Rice husk ash (RHA) was utilized as support to synthesize MnOx/RHA catalyst by incipient wetness impregnation. In order to detailedly investigate the influence of preparation variables on the catalytic activity of MnOx/RHA for NO oxidation, the quadratic regression orthogonal rotation design (QRROD) was employed. An empirical model was developed to correlate preparation variables with the conversion of NO to NO2. The surface species and morphology of the catalyst were also analyzed by SEM and XRD, respectively. It was found that most of MnOx supported on RHA were granular with micron-size and in the form of amorphous phase. The preparation variables except for calcination time (x(2)) had significant effect on the catalytic activity of MnOx/RHA. The model could accurately describe the relationship between the preparation variables and NO conversion through the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the comparison of experimental results and predicted results. The particles size of MnOx was increased from 0.1 to 1.0 mu m. as the calcination temperature was raised from 200 to 800 degrees C, and the fraction of crystal MnOx also increased. The surface structure of RHA was markedly affected by incineration temperature. With incineration temperature increasing, the surface structure becomes compacter. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.