Cerium-containing mesoporous materials have been synthesized by hydrothermal method and characterized by IR, DR-UV-vis and DRIFT spectroscopy, XRD and N-2 adsorption methods. It was established that the d(100) and unit-cell (a(0)) parameter increase with the increase of cerium content up to 2% in SBA-15 and then tend to remain the same. According to DR-UV-vis spectroscopic data, an agglomeration of cerium atoms was observed in the form of fine CeO2 crystallites. Important factors affecting the catalytic activity of Ce-SBA-15, namely the effect of cerium content, the state of cerium ions, the state of silanol groups on the surface of Ce-SBA-15, and stability of the catalyst have been studied in the cyclohexanol and cyclohexene oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.