In this paper, the formation mechanism of mesoporous CeO2 synthesized by thermal decomposition of Ce-MOF and its performance of benzene catalytic combustion, as well as the structure-activity rela-tionship between them were studied in depth. The self-assembly process and physicochemical proper-ties of CeO2 were characterized by thermogravimetry analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption/desorption, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques. Characterization results show that Ce-MOF is completely decomposed into pure mesoporous CeO2 when the decomposition temperature is higher than 400 C. At this threshold temperature, CeO2 (400) has the largest specific surface area and pore volume of 114 m2/g and 0.152 cm3/g, respectively. CeO2 (400) exhibits very high catalytic activity for benzene combustion, which can completely catalyze the degradation of benzene at 260 ℃. Meanwhile, the mesoporous CeO2 (400) supported Pt nano-crystalline catalysts were prepared by high temperature solution-phase reduction method. Pt/CeO2 (400) can completely degrade benzene at about 200 ℃ and represents high durability and good water-resistance for benzene combustion during 100 h of continuous reaction.