The promoting impact of potassium (0-1 wt% K) on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) catalytic decomposition over Ir/ Al 2 O 3 is investigated under both oxygen deficient and oxygen excess conditions. All samples were characterized by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), temperatureprogrammed reduction (H 2 -TPR), ammonia desorption (NH 3 -TPD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of pyridine adsorption (FTIR-Pyridine). The results reveal that the K-free Ir/Al 2 O 3 catalyst consists mainly of the IrO 2 phase, exhibiting also significant Lewis acidity, which is gradually eliminated by the addition of K. Catalytic performance results showed that the deN 2 O performance in the absence of O 2 in the feed mixture is negatively affected upon increasing potassium loading. However, under oxygen excess conditions, a pronounced effect of K is observed. Although the catalytic performance of the undoped catalyst is drastically hindered by the presence of O 2 , the K-promotion notably prohibits the oxygen poisoning. The optimum deN 2 O performance under oxygen excess conditions is obtained with potassium loading of 0.5 wt% K, which offers complete conversion of N 2 O at 580°C, instead of the corresponding 50 % N 2 O conversion achieved with the un-modified sample. On the basis of characterization results, it was concluded that alkali-doping in combination with oxygen excess conditions are required towards the formation of active Ir entities.