High surface area mesoporous ceria-titania binary materials with high Lewis acidity and improved reduction properties were synthesized using template assisted hydrothermal technique. The obtained materials were characterized by low temperature nitrogen physisorption, XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, UV vis, XPS, FTIR, FTIR of adsorbed pyridine and thermo-programmed reduction with hydrogen. Their catalytic activity was tested in total oxidation of ethyl acetate and methanol decomposition to CO and hydrogen with a potential application in VOCs elimination and alternative fuels, respectively. The structural changes in the binary materials, which could be tuned by the variation in the Ce/Ti ratio and the temperature of hydrothermal treatment, provoked significant changes in their textural, surface and redox properties, which is in close relation to the catalytic activity and selectivity in various catalytic processes. The intimate contact between the individual oxides results in the formation of different catalytic active sites and their role in the studied catalytic reactions was discussed in details. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.