A Cu–Fe–La/γ-Al_2O_3(CFLA) catalyst was prepared by the excessive impregnation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicate that the catalyst contained mostly Cu~(2+), Fe~(3+), and La~(3+)and a small amount of Cu~+, Fe~(2+), and La. The active components were uniformly distributed in the catalyst, and the particle size of the components was approximately 7.5 nm. The CFLA catalyst was used for the treatment of methyl orange(MO) solution by catalytic wet air oxidation(CWAO), and it exhibited a high catalytic activity. The catalytic reaction involved variable valence states of metals and free-radical reaction mechanism. The CWAO reaction of MO solution was fitted by a segmented first-order dynamic model, and the rapid reaction apparent activation energy was 13.9 k J·mol~(-1). A Cu-Fe-La / γ-Al_2O_3 (CFLA) catalyst was prepared by the excessive impregnation method and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results indicating that the catalyst contained mostly Cu 2+, Fe 3+, and La 3+ and a small amount of Cu 2+, Fe 2+, and La. The active components were distributed in the catalyst, and the particle size of the components was approximately 7.5 nm. The CFLA catalyst was used for the treatment of methyl orange (MO) solution by catalytic wet air oxidation (CWAO), and it exhibited a high catalytic activity. The catalytic reaction involved involved The variable valence states of metals and free-radical reaction mechanism. The CWAO reaction of MO solution was fitted by a segmented first-order dynamic model, and the rapid reaction apparent activation energy was 13.9 kJ · mol -1.