The design of a cryogenically cooled Raman cell for powdered catalyst materials is presented. The cell utilizes a thin tungsten grid with uniform, closely spaced holes to efficiently reduce thermal heating of powdered samples during laser excitation. The performance of the cell was demonstrated by monitoring the dehydration of a WQ(x)/ZrO2 catalyst and the thermal degradation of Os-3(CO)(12)/SiO2 with increasing laser power. This design will be useful for laser Raman studies of powdered materials in reactor and adsorption cells where sample rotation for reducing radiation damage by heating is impractical.