The catalytic combustion of carbon particulate was investigated with the aim of developing a catalyst for the abatement of soot in diesel exhausts. In the presence of a Cu/V/K based catalyst a strong increase of the rate of carbon combustion and a marked decrease of the apparent activation energy were observed. The carbon reactivity showed a linear dependence upon the initial ratio of the mass of catalyst to the mass of carbon and a square root dependence upon the oxygen partial pressure. However, catalytic combustion of diesel soot and partially graphitized carbon black confirmed previous results obtained for other carbon materials. In particular, kinetic data follow a model proposed for the catalytic combustion of amorphous carbon black [1]. An extension of this model, incorporating the influence of carbon-catalyst contact on the catalyst performances, has been presented.