Co-precipitation combined with the assistance of lauric acid and dodecylamine was used to synthesize high surface area nanostructured ceria-zirconia-yttria-lanthana solid solutions (CZ-L and CZ-D). The promotion effects of lauric acid and dodecylamine were studied systematically by N-2 adsorption-desorption, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), FT-IR and Raman analysis. After being thermal aged at 1100 degrees C for 4 h in air, CZ-L and CZ-D present high surface areas of 26 m(2)/g and 16 m(2)/g, respectively. The results indicate that the added lauric acid and dodecylamine are chemically adsorbed onto the surface of materials through coordination effect. The obtained hydrophobic surface could greatly decrease the amount of superficial adsorbed water on the material and significantly reduce the surface tension. The addition of lauric acid and dodecylamine could also effectively support the network structures of the material and resist the collapse of pores upon drying and calcination.