The activity of Fe loaded zeolites towards the oxidation of trichloroethylene (TCE) was evaluated by varying the preparation procedure and zeolite type. The activity of 2% Fe-ZSM-5 and Fe-beta were compared first, and after confirming that the activity over ZSM-5 catalyst was higher, modification in the preparation method was carried out. The catalysts prepared by impregnation or solid state ion exchange methods were also found to be active towards the oxidation of TCE, however, comprehensively less than the activity of the catalyst synthesised by ion exchange method. The influence of exchange time on the activity was studied and we found that increasing the duration of exchange time enhanced the catalytic performance. Catalyst characterization which include XRD, BET surface area analysis, NH(3) desorption studies and TEM were carried out for the catalyst samples and results were correlated to get better understanding of the catalytic performance. Finally the stability of the catalyst was tested and compared with H-ZSM-5. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.