A series of CuO-CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts were prepared by different methods and applied to the selective catalytic reduction of NO with NH3 reaction at low temperature. The results showed that the SCR activities, morphology, particles dimension, and the surface chemical state of CuO-CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts were obviously influenced by the preparation method. The SCR performance results showed that the CuOCeO2-ZrO2 catalyst prepared by co-precipitation method presented the best activity in the temperature range of 125-180 degrees C. The characterization results showed that the Ce4+, Ce3+, Cu2+ and Cu+ species were coexistence in the CuO-CeO2-ZrO2 catalysts, and the Cu species mainly existed as Cu2+ It was also found that the high surface area, the synergistic effect between copper and ceria, enhanced acidity and the highly dispersed copper species were responsible for the high SCR activity of the CuO-CeO2-ZrO2 catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.