The alumina cryogel with 5 mass platinum was prepared from aluminum sec-butoxide and H 2 PtCl 6 through the sol-gel processing and subsequent freeze drying. The cryogel showed higher thermal stability of platinum than the corresponding xerogel and impregnation catalysts at elevated temperatures. Also for the catalytic VOC combustion the cryogel exhibited higher activity than other catalysts. It was revealed that about half of the platinum surface was inside the alumina cryogel, and such encapsulation was considered the principal cause for the higher stability. 2008 The Ceramic Society of Japan. All rights reserved.Key-words : Cryogel, Sol-gel, Freeze drying, Platinum, Alumina, Catalytic combustion, Thermal stability, Dispersion, VOC [Received November 2, 2007; Accepted January 17, 2008] 1. Introduction As growing the demands for global environmental protection, much attention has been paid to the performance of a catalyst for exhaust emission control.1) Platinum is one of the important elements used for purifying the harmful emissions.2),3) However it is known that a precious metal agglomerates and sinters easily at high temperatures, decreasing the surface area of the metal, which results in catalyst deactivation. 4),5) It is also known that such agglomeration and sintering of a metal become pronounced with an increase in the concentration of the metal. In order to provide against such catalyst deactivation, excess precious metals have to be loaded despite the high cost. In our previous studies, the sol-gel processing and subsequent freeze drying, bringing about cryogel, successfully improved the stability of platinum (0.5 mass) on alumina at elevated temperatures. 6),7) In the present studies, platinum-alumina cryogel with high platinum concentration (5 mass) was prepared, and the thermal stability and catalytic combustion activity were examined in comparison to those of the corresponding xerogel and two impregnation catalysts using alumina cryogel and commercial alumina as the supports.