The thermal behavior and crystallization kinetics of cerium dioxide (CeO 2 ) precursor powders synthesized using a precipitation route at 293K and pH=9 were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry/thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and high resolution TEM. The formula of precursor powders can be expressed as CeO 2 ·1/2H 2 O. The activation energy of CeO 2 crystallization from cerium dioxide precursors was obtained by the non-isothermal method and was 73.49kJ/mol. The parameter of growth morphology (n) and index of crystallization were approximated as 2.0, meaning that two-dimensional growth with plate-like morphology was the primary mechanism of CeO 2 crystallization from cerium dioxide precursor powders.