A series of mesoporous manganese oxide materials were synthesized following the inverse micelle sol-gel method and categorized by the heat treatment. The tunable features and crystallinity of the mesoporous materials were analyzed by BET and XRD analyses. The HR-TEM and TRP analyses were conducted to analyze the meso-ordered structure and reducibility of the mesoporous manganese oxide materials. The catalytic activity of the mesoporous materials was investigated in aerobic oxidation of morin as a model reaction. The experimental data were interpreted according to the Mars-van Krevelen and Langmuir-Hinshelwood approach. The heat treatment influenced the crystallite size and the activity of the mesoporous manganese oxide materials. The activity of the lattice oxygen was a critical factor in the aerobic process. MnO2-350 degrees C exhibited the largest lattice oxygen activity ((64.3 +/- 5.6) x kJ mol(-1) m(-2)).