Adsorbents were successfully prepared by liquid-phase ion-exchange of Y zeolites with Cu, Ce and combined Cu-Ce metal ions. The adsorbents were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2-adsorption specific surface area measurements (BET), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), H-2 temperature programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The adsorptive desulfurization properties of the adsorbents were studied in a fixed-bed unit through a model gasoline which was made up of 1-octane solution of refractory sulfur compounds (such as thiophene and benzothiophene) and certain amounts of toluene, pyridine or cyclohexene. Results indicate that (CuCeY)-Ce-I-Y-Iv not only has a high sulfur adsorption capacity similar to (CuY)-Y-I but also has a high selectivity for sulfur compounds similar to (CeY)-Y-Iv. For each sorbent, the selectivity of adsorption of sulfur compounds from liquid solutions followed the order: benzothiophene > thiophene. The effect on the metal ion-exchanged Y zeolites for sulfur removal was in the order: pyridine > cyclohexene > toluene. The high selectivity of (CuCeY)-Ce-I-Y-Iv for sulfur removal can be attributed to the synergistic interaction between Cu+ and Ce4+. The (CuCeY)-Ce-I-Y-Iv zeolite binds organic sulfur compounds through two types of adsorption modes: Pi-complexation and direct coordination (S-M) interaction. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.