The present work focused on the investigation of electrochemical properties of cerium doped lead dioxide anode, i.e. Ti/Ce-PbO2. SEM, AFM, XRD and XPS were used to characterize the morphology, crystal structure and elemental states of the modified anode. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was also utilized to study the electrochemical property of Ti/Ce-PbO2. The electrochemical activity of the Ti/Ce-PbO2 anode was investigated by means of bulk electrolysis and compared with that of a PbO2 anode. The accelerated life test and oxidants determination were also conducted. The results indicated that the incorporation of cerium improved the electrocatalytic activity and stability of PbO2 anode. The service life of Ti/Ce-PbO2 electrode was much longer than that of traditional lead dioxide electrode. The electrochemical activity obtained from degradation of o-nitrophenol (o-NP) outperformed the traditional lead dioxide electrode as well. The Ti/Ce-PbO2 electrode is considered a promising anode for the treatment of organic pollutants. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.