The heterogeneous reduction of NO by H-2 and CO over different CaO materials is investigated. The dependence of the specific NO reduction rate on the impurity content is demonstrated for both reducing species. The roles of two specific impurities, i.e., Na and Fe, as well as their combined effect are investigated. The apparent activation energies for the NO + CO and NO + Hz reactions are determined for three different calcium oxides. Values between 26 and 28 kcal/mol are obtained. The influence of impurity content is found in the preexponential factor of the Arrhenius equation. A reaction mechanism based on a rate-determining surface-oxygen-abstraction step is suggested. This mechanistic understanding is explored to compare the activities of other alkaline-earth oxides. Particularly, a linear correlation between the apparent activation energy and the lattice parameter is observed.