Here we report the catalytic property of ZnO-CeO 2 nanoparticles towards oxidative degradation of organic pollutants present in industrial wastewater. The catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation method without using any surfactant. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were studied by XRD, Raman, XPS, N 2 -sorption, FE-SEM, TEM and EDX techniques. The characterization results confirmed the formation of porous ZnO-CeO 2 nanocatalysts with high surface area, pore volume and oxygen vacancies. ZnO-CeO 2 nanocatalysts exhibited appreciable efficiency in CWAO of industrial wastewater under mild conditions. The Ce 40 Zn 60 catalyst was found to be most efficient with 72% color, 64% chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 63% total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Efficient removal of chlorophenolics (CHPs, 59%) and adsorbable organic halides (AOX, 54%) indicated the feasibility of using ZnO-CeO 2 nanocatalysts in degradation of non-biodegradable and toxic chlorinated compounds.