Cumene was oxidized with air as the oxidant and Cu/MgO as the catalyst. Cu/MgO with different compositions was prepared by co-precipitation and then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The characterization results showed that CuO dispersed on MgO well in the cases that the Cu content in Cu/MgO was 1% by molar. In this catalytic system, MgO did not only act as the supporter, but also as the catalyst to activate the tertiary C-H of cumene. The conversion of cumene was increased by using CuO as the promoter on MgO catalyst. The cumene conversion and cumene hydroperoxide (CHP) selectivity were in a trade-off relationship because cumene oxidation was subject to the decomposition of CHP. Thus, the effects of the operating variables were investigated and the relevant mechanism was discussed.