OMS-2 nanorod catalysts were synthesized by a hydrothermal redox reaction method using Mn SO4(OMS-2-SO4) and Mn(CH3COO)2(OMS-2-AC) as precursors. SO42--doped OMS-2-AC catalysts with different SO42-concentrations were prepared next by adding(NH4)2SO4solution into OMS-2-AC samples to investigate the effect of the anion SO42-on the OMS-2-AC catalyst. All catalysts were then tested for the catalytic oxidation of ethanol. The OMS-2-SO4 catalyst synthesized demonstrated much better activity than OMS-2-AC. The SO42-doping greatly influenced the activity of the OMS-2-AC catalyst, with a dramatic promotion of activity for suitable concentration of SO42-(SO4/catalyst = 0.5% W/W). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy(ICP-OES), NH3-TPD and H2-TPR techniques. The results showed that the presence of a suitable amount of SO42-species in the OMS-2-AC catalyst could decrease the Mn–O bond strength and also enhance the lattice oxygen and acid site concentrations, which then effectively promoted the catalytic activity of OMS-2-AC toward ethanol oxidation. Thus it was confirmed that the better catalytic performance of OMS-2-SO4 compared to OMS-2-AC is due to the presence of some residual SO42-species in OMS-2-SO4 samples. OMS-2 nanorod catalysts were synthesized by a hydrothermal redox reaction method using Mn SO4 (OMS-2-SO4) and Mn (CH3COO) 2 different SO42-concentrations were prepared next by adding (NH4) 2SO4solution into OMS-2-AC samples to investigate the effect of the anion of SO42-on the OMS-2-AC catalyst. All catalysts were then tested for the catalytic oxidation of ethanol. The SO42-doping greatly influenced the activity of the OMS-2-AC catalyst, with a dramatic promotion of activity for suitable concentration of SO42- (SO4 / catalyst = 0.5% w / w) The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), NH3-TPD and H2-TPR techniques. The results showed that the presenc e of a suitable amount of SO42-species in the OMS-2-AC catalyst could decrease the Mn-O bond strength and also enhance the lattice oxygen and acid site concentrations, which then enhanced promoted the catalytic activity of OMS-2-AC toward ethanol oxidation. It was confirmed that the better catalytic performance of OMS-2-SO4 compared to OMS-2-AC is due to the presence of some residual SO42-species in OMS-2-SO4 samples.