Nanocasted oxides were evaluated in the production of styrene via the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene utilizing CO 2 as soft oxidant. Mesoporous binary and ternary oxides catalysts were obtained by nanocasting polymeric beads, as a mold. The chemical and structural properties of the solids were characterised by SEM–EDX, TEM, nitrogen adsorption measurements, TPR, CO 2-TPD, Raman and FTIR analyses. The solids were evaluated in dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene utilizing CO 2 as soft oxidant. XRD analyses indicated that the structures of CeFeCo, CeFeZr, CeFeNi and CeNiAl were more crystalline than that of CeFe, SnFe and MnFe. SEM and TEM analyses suggested that the replication strategy allowed CeNiAl, CeFe, MnFe and CeFeCo composites to retain the textural and structural properties of the mold. CO 2-TPD analysis of the solids revealed that basic sites of medium to high strengths were present in the ternary solids. The textural properties were related to the crystal structure and morphology of the catalysts. Moreover, the reducibility of the solids was highly dependent on their structures. Thus, ternary composites were stabilised by phases with low reducibility, and the activity of the catalysts was enhanced. For instance, CeFeCo possessing a mesostructured feature and a highly stable CoFe 2O 4 spinel phase showed superior catalytic activity for the production of styrene (conversion = 25%; selectivity for styrene = 45%) at 550 °C. Alternatively, CeFe, SnFe, MnFe, CeFeZr, CeFeNi and CeNiAl displayed modest activity in the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene. At temperatures greater than 550 °C, the catalytic performance of the CeFeCo catalyst was improved but coking decreased the selectivity. The catalytic performance of the CeFeCo catalyst was comparable to those of traditional iron oxide catalysts used in the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene.