A series of supported CuO/CeO2 catalysts with various CuO loadings (5-25 wt%) were prepared using a solvothermal method with ethylene glycol as solvent. The effects of CuO loading on physicochemical properties and catalytic activity of the prepared CuO/CeO2 catalysts have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, BET surface area measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, temperature-programmed reduction with H-2, temperature-programmed desorption of CO techniques, and low-temperature CO oxidation reaction test. The results indicate that the catalyst with 10 wt% CuO loading has the highest catalytic activity, which can be attributed to the largest amounts of well-dispersed CuO species strongly interacting with support CeO2 and oxygen vacancies caused by the incorporation of Cu2+ into CeO2 lattice, and the highest concentration of and the most active lattice oxygen. The activity for CO oxidation of the supported CuO/CeO2 catalyst prepared by the present solvothermal method was significantly higher than that of the counterparts prepared by the commonly used impregnation and deposition-precipitation methods.