Citric acid (CA), as the chelating agent, was introduced to obtain the enhanced Pt dispersion and catalytic activities for the Pt-based catalysts supported on oxygen-storage material. The role and content of CA were investigated systematically. It was found that the citric acid-assisted catalysts showed better Pt dispersion and smaller nanoparticle size of Pt. Thus, the catalyst had lower reduction temperature, preferable thermostability and possessed more oxidation state of Pt species under the oxidation atmosphere. The citric acid-induced fresh catalysts were excellent to convert CO and the corresponding aged ones exhibited higher activities for the elimination of all the target pollutants. Among the aged catalysts, P2-a (the mole ratio of Pt/CA is 2:1) presented the best performance. Particularly, compared with the reference sample (Pc-a), the light-off temperatures (T-50) of NO, HC and CO for P2-a decreased by 39 degrees, 42 degrees C and 72 degrees C, respectively, and the full-conversion temperatures (T-90) of NO, HC and CO for P2-a decreased by 44 degrees C, 44 degrees C and 48 degrees C, respectively. Therefore, this work provides a facile and valid method to manufacture advanced catalysts for purification of the vehicle exhaust in the future. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.