Manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (cryptomelane structure) were synthesized by a solvent-free method and tested in the total oxidation of CO (TOX), and preferential oxidation of CO in presence of hydrogen (PROX). The influence of Cu in the cryptomelane structure was evaluated by several characterization techniques such as: X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), hydrogen temperature programmed reduction (TPR-H-2) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The Cu-modified manganese oxide material (OMS-Cu) showed very high catalytic activity for CO oxidation in comparison to the bare manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieve (OMS). The improved catalytic activity observed in OMS-Cu catalyst was associated to a high lattice oxygen mobility and availability due to the formation of Cu-Mn-O bridges. In addition, under PROX reaction conditions the catalytic activity considerably decreases in the presence of 10% (v/v) CO2 in the feed while the same amount of water provokes an improvement in the CO conversion and O-2 selectivity. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.