The controllable synthesis of efficient supported non-noble with fitting chemical state for styrene epoxidation is of great significance to save scarce resources and improve the atom economy. Herein, a series of Ce modified CuO/CoAl-hydrotalcite catalysts was prepared using deposition-precipitation (DP) method. The appropriate addition of Ce (Ce/Cu = 0.2) could contribute to the dispersion of CuO on the surface of support. Moreover, the chemical state of CuO could be finely tuned by the introduction of Ce additives: Ce interacted with CuO and maked CuO surface enrichment of electrons, while CeO2 weakened the interaction between CuO and CoAl-HT support, increasing the percentage of Cu2+ ions (Cu-A (2+)) in metal oxides. Therefore, the obtained CuO-0.2CeO(2)/CoAl-HT catalyst, possessing maximum Cu-A (2+), exhibited optimal styrene oxide yield in styrene epoxidation reaction at similar condition to date, achieving 79.5% selectivity at 99.6% styrene conversion. [GRAPHICS] .