A series of supported vanadium oxide catalysts were prepared by the incipient wetness method as a function of the support composition (Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , and USY), the metal oxide loading (0-1 wt %), and the impregnation salt (vanadyl sulfate and ammonium vanadate). These catalysts have been studied by combined DRS-ESR spectroscopies in order to quantify the amount of V 4+ and V 5+ and to unravel their coordination geometries. These spectroscopic fingerprints have been used to study the preferential adsorption of V 4+/5+ ions on SiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 , and USY. Both V 4+ and V 5+ were preferentially adsorbed on Al 2 O 3 and showed a much smaller preference for USY and SiO 2 . The observed preference orders are discussed in relation with the properties of the support. In addition, a novel method is proposed to coat the external surface of USY with a thin film of Al 2 O 3 . The method is based on the deposition of USY with the so-called Keggin ion, [Al 13 O 4