Fe-Mn oxide and Ce-doped Fe-Mn oxide sorbents were studied on the structural and desulfurization behavior in COS removal from syngas. The effects of cerium oxide on the Fe-Mn oxides have been investigated by XRD, BET, TPR, XPS and TEM methods. Analysis data show that the Ce-doped sorbent has larger specific surface area and better particles' dispersion compared with non-modified Fe-Mn sorbent. The addition of Ce improves the reduction performance of Fe-Mn species. The desulfurization experiments show that the desulfurization activity of sorbent can be increased because of the promotion of the structural and redox properties by ceria doped. The Ce-doped sorbent can reduce COS from 15,000ppmv to less than 0.1 ppmv at 325 degrees C and a space velocity of 1000 h(-1). (c) 2008 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.