a b s t r a c tSolution combustion using urea as a fuel was employed to synthesise Co oxide and Al 2 O 3 -, SiO 2 -and TiO 2 -supported Co oxide catalysts. The catalysts were characterised using several techniques such as N 2 adsorption/desorption, XRD, FTIR, UV-vis diffuse reflectance and SEM-EDX, and their catalytic activity was evaluated in phenol degradation in aqueous solution with sulphate radicals. Solution combustion is a simple and effective method in preparation of supported Co catalysts. Co 3 O 4 was the major Co crystal phase in the samples prepared via the combustion synthesis. Bulk Co 3 O 4 particles were not effective in reaction, but supported Co oxides showed higher activity than unsupported Co oxide. The supports influenced Co dispersion and catalytic activity. Co/TiO 2 exhibited the highest activity, but it deactivated much faster than other two supported catalysts. Co/SiO 2 showed a comparable activity to Co/Al 2 O 3 and the best stability among the three Al 2 O 3 -, SiO 2 -and TiO 2 -supported Co catalysts.