The nanometric substituted perovskite catalysts La1-xKxCo1-yNiyO3-delta (x = 0, 0.1; y = 0, 0.05, 0.1) were synthesized by citric acid complexation method, and employed for soot combustion, NOx storage and simultaneous NOx-soot removal. Their structures and physico-chemical properties were characterized by XRD, EXAFS, BET, SEM, H-2-TPR, and XPS techniques. When K and Ni are simultaneously introduced into LaCoO3 catalyst, soot combustion is largely accelerated, with the temperature (T-m) for maximal soot conversion lowered by at least 50 degrees C; moreover, NOx reduction by soot is also facilitated. The La0.9K0.1Co0.95Ni0.05O3-delta catalyst exhibits not only the lowest T-m (367 degrees C) temperature but also the highest soot combustion rate (67.3 mu g/s g catalyst). Meanwhile, the NOx reduction percentage over this catalyst can reach 21%. The kinetic results show that the activation energy for soot combustion over La0.9K0.1Co0.95Ni0.05O3-delta (81.34 kJ mol(-1)) is much lower than that over LaCoO3 (107.7 kJ mol(-1)). The H-2-TPR and XPS results show that the La0.9K0.1Co0.95Ni0.05O3-delta catalyst possesses better redox properties, more tetravalent cobalt ions and larger amount of surface adsorbed oxygen species, which determines its novel performance for soot combustion, NOx storage and soot-NOx removal. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.