The decomposition activities of nitrogen monoxide (NO) were investigated for the copper ion-exchanged ZSM-5 zeolites (Cu-MFI) containing the rare-earth elements: La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Gd. It was found that Sm and Gd acted as promoter for NO decomposition over Cu-MFI with 60-70% of the exchange level of copper ion, while the addition of the other rare-earth elements to Cu-MFI showed no positive effect on NO decomposition activity. The introduction of Sm and Gd to Cu-MFI had little influence on the effectiveness of each copper ion for NO adsorption in the MFI zeolite. The presence of Sm and Gd stabilized Cu+ as an active center. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.