This study presents an evaluation of the catalytic performances of CuY-5 in wet hydrogen peroxide oxidation of phenol. The catalyst was prepared by ionic exchange from the protonic form of the commercial HY-5 zeolite. The process was carried out within the temperature range from 323 to 353 K and at atmospheric total pressure. Other operating variables were stirrer speeds (200-800 min(-1)), hydrogen peroxide concentrations (0.008-0.254 mol dm(-3)), and catalyst loadings (0.05-0.4 g). The initial phenol concentration was 0.01 mol dm(-3). The results show that the used catalyst entirely eliminated phenol and could be reused in successive runs, without significant loss of activity.