Rare earth elements (REEs) is the name given to 15 elements from the lanthanide group and 2 elements have the same chemical properties that make them included in the REEs, namely scandium and yttrium. The use of rare earths triggers the development of new materials for application, one of which is cerium metal. Currently, cerium is widely applied in industry to improve product quality, one example is as a catalyst to increase the power output of Ni-MH batteries. In the world of health, cerium has been developed for use in electrochemical sensing and electrochemical biosensors, as well as drug delivery systems, antioxidants, and detection of various diseases by utilizing the characteristics of cerium. Separation of cerium from REEs can be done by oxidation of cerium(III) to cerium(IV), so it is very important to take advantage of the valence property of cerium which can be changed so that cerium is separated from other REEs(III). In acidic solutions, the oxidation of Ce(III) to Ce(IV) can occur by chemical oxidation with strong oxidizing agents such as persulfate, permanganate, or perchlorite by electrochemical oxidation or by direct oxidation. This review discusses some commonly used oxidizing agents, such as potassium permanganate (KMnO4), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and caroic acid (H2SO5).