MnOx/nano-TiO2, MnOx/Al2O3-TiO2 (Al-Ti), CuOx/nano-TiO2 and CuOx/Al-Ti were prepared and their application in catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO) of beta-naphthol were investigated. The catalysts had been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) measurements. Phases of CuO, Cu2O, CuAl2O4, MnO2 and Mn2O3 could be found on the surface of the aforementioned catalysts. Significant differences in activities were observed among the prepared catalysts. Compared to CuOx/nano-TiO2, the combined action of highly dispersed CuO as well as CuAl2O4 of CuOx/Al-Ti helped to achieve higher activity for the CWAO of beta-naphthol, while the Cu2O component lead to lower efficiency of CuOx/nano-TiO2. On the surface of MnOx/nano-TiO2, both the larger amount of highly dispersed MnO2 and the stronger electron transfer between MnO2 and Mn2O3 were helpful to promote the activity for the degradation of beta-naphthol. However, the higher amount of bulk MnO2 and the weaker electron transfer for MnOx/Al-Ti were unfavorable to increase its efficiency. Among the four catalysts as-prepared, MnOx/nano-TiO2 was identified the highest activity with 93.7% COD removal. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.