Vanadium oxide and cerium oxide doped titania–zirconia mixed oxides were explored for oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to styrene utilizing carbon dioxide as a soft oxidant. The investigated TiO 2 –ZrO 2 mixed oxide support with high specific surface area (207m 2 g −1 ) was synthesized by a coprecipitation method. Over the calcined support (550°C), a monolayer equivalent (15wt.%) of V 2 O 5 , CeO 2 or a combination of both were deposited by using wet-impregnation or co-impregnation methods to make the V 2 O 5 /TiO 2 –ZrO 2 , CeO 2 /TiO 2 –ZrO 2 and V 2 O 5 –CeO 2 /TiO 2 –ZrO 2 combination catalysts, respectively. These catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), temperature preprogrammed reduction (TPR), CO 2 temperature preprogrammed desorption (TPD) and BET surface area methods. All characterization studies revealed that the deposited promoter oxides are in a highly dispersed form over the support, and the combined acid–base and redox properties of the catalysts play a major role in this reaction. The V 2 O 5 –CeO 2 /TiO 2 –ZrO 2 catalyst exhibited a better conversion and product selectivity than other combinations. In particular, the addition of CeO 2 to V 2 O 5 /TiO 2 –ZrO 2 prevented catalyst deactivation and helped to maintain a high and stable catalytic activity.