Dispersed copper oxide nano-catalysts supported on almond shell-based activated carbon were prepared for catalytic oxidation of toluene in air. The response surface methodology was used to express the catalyst removal efficiency in terms of catalyst metal loading and calcination temperature. Catalyst activity increased with both increasing calcination temperature and metal loading. Calcination temperature had a significant effect on the catalyst activity only at high metal loadings. Two different catalyst preparation methods were employed to investigate the effect of impregnation technique on the deposition-precipitation method. Well-dispersed nano catalysts with higher efficiency towards oxidation of toluene were prepared by the heterogeneous depositionprecipitation (HDP) as compared with the combined impregnation and deposition-precipitation method. The support and catalyst properties were determined by X-ray diffraction, Transmission electron microscopy, fieldemission scanning electron microscope, Boehm test, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area measurements, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Characterization analyses and reaction experiments indicated the antonym effect of impregnation method on the deposition-precipitation method for catalyst preparation. Two types of crystallite (large and small) were formed on the support as a consequence of using the combined catalyst preparation method. Kinetic models were proposed for oxidation of toluene using copper oxide catalysts prepared by the HDP method. The kinetic study indicated that an Eley-Rideal mechanism could adequately describe the kinetic behavior of toluene oxidation.List of symbols C 0 Inlet feed concentration (ppm) C e Exit gas concentration (ppm) D Mean crystallite diameter (nm) K Dimensionless shape factor = 0.9 k X-ray wavelength BLine broadening at half maximum intensity H Bragg angle X T Steady state conversion of the toluene W Weight of catalyst loaded in reactor (g) M Inlet molar flow rate of toluene (mol/s) r Rate of toluene oxidation (mol/g s) Error Objective function of GA methodology for estimating kinetic constants was the absolute error E Activation energy (kJ/mol) DH Adsorption enthalpy (kJ/mol) R Gas constant (J/mol K) R 2