CeO2-ZnO composite catalysts prepared by amorphous citrate method have been investigated for cyclohexanol dehydrogenation and hydrogen transfer reactions. The precursors and catalysts have been characterized by TGA, CHN analysis, XRD, UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance, SEM and acid-base measurements. The amorphous precursors in citrate process contain one molecule of citric acid per Ce4+ or Zn2+ ions. Structural studies of composite oxides indicate the presence of individual oxide phases along with non-equilibrium solid solutions in a limited composition range. The composite oxides contain low coordination Ce3+ and Ce4+ sites. Cyclohexanone was obtained as main product for cyclohexanol transformation reaction carried out over these mixed oxide catalysts due to dehydrogenation on basic sites. The presence of ceria in the composite oxide enhances the surface area and acid-base properties facilitating the dehydrogenation process. At low ceria content, the CeO2-ZnO composite oxide catalysts show higher catalytic activity for both cyclohexanol dehydrogenation and hydrogen transfer reactions due to higher basicity, surface area and smaller crystallite sizes. Hydrogen transfer activity is found to be higher on CeO2(10%)-ZnO catalyst prepared by citrate method compared to the catalyst prepared by decomposition from acetate precursor. This study demonstrates the promoting effect of ceria in CeO2-ZnO catalysts for reactions involving acid-base sites. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.