Hollow Au/CeO2 as a highly efficient and stable heterogeneous catalyst is successfully used for a continuous-flow reaction. The hollow CeO2 microspheres with thicknesses of 21 nm as functional supports can greatly improve the catalytic activity and stability of the Au nanoparticles. The catalytic activity of hollow Au/CeO2 catalysts is 4.5 times higher than the Au catalysts without the hollow structure under the same reaction conditions for the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Meanwhile, the hollow structure also accelerates the mass transfer of reactant for the continuous-flow system. A high turnover number of 65.7 mol h(-1) mol(Au)(-1) is yielded for hollow Au/CeO2 catalysts at a flow rate of 250 mL h(-1) with remarkable stability for a continuous-flow 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction. The present continuous-flow system exhibits a huge potential for the automation treatment of pollutant 4-nitrophenol.