Manganese oxides prove to be a promising catalyst for formaldehyde (HCHO) elimination in catalytic oxidation. In this study, MnO 2 with different crystalline structure (α-MnO 2 , β-MnO 2 , γ-MnO 2 , and δ-MnO 2 ) were synthesized by hydrothermal method to investigate their catalytic performances towards the abatement of formaldehyde. The prepared catalysts were characterized and analyzed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), hydrogen-temperature programmed reduction (H 2 -TPR), BET specific surface area, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and ammonia-temperature programmed desorption (NH 3 -TPD). In addition, the apparent activation energy was also calculated by using Arrhenius plots. Among the above four prepared catalysts, the γ-MnO 2 has the best destruction and removal efficiency (DRE), which was approaching to 100% for HCHO at 155°C. The catalytic activity of γ-MnO 2 is associated with abundant mesopores, higher reducibility of surface oxygen species, and more oxygen vacancies as compared to other types of crystalline MnO 2 .