This paper concerns the preparation of metal oxide-supported gold catalysts and their application to 2-propanol abatement in order to lower the light off temperature. Catalytic oxidation of 2-propanol was investigated on Au/CeO2, Au/Fe2O3, Au/TiO2 and Au/Al2O3 catalysts prepared from the deposition-precipitation (DP) method. The catalysts are characterized by XRD (X-ray diffraction), BET (Brunner-Emmett-Teller), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), NH3-TPD (NH3-temperature programmed desorption), H-2-TPR (H-2-temperature programmed reduction), ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy) and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) techniques. The catalytic activity of Au/metal oxide samples towards the deep oxidation of 2-propanol to CO2 and water has been found to be strongly dependent on the kind of supports, the amount of gold loading, the calcination temperature and the moisture content in the feed. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.