A series of N-methyl N-confused porphyrin manganese complexes (3a-3f) were synthesized and characterized by UV-vis, XPS, HR-MS and cyclic voltammety. These complexes were utilized to catalyze the styrene oxidation. It turned out their catalytic activities were comparable with manganese tetraphenylporphyrin (MnTPP). Among all investigated manganese N-confused porphyrins, the most electron deficient 3f exhibited the best catalytic activity for the alkene oxidation. The proposed mechanism for the catalytic oxidation has also been described. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.