Perovskite
oxides with formula ABO3 or A2BO4 are a very important class of functional materials
that exhibit a range of stoichiometries and crystal structures. Because
of the structural features, they could accommodate around 90% of the
metallic natural elements of the Periodic Table that stand solely
or partially at the A and/or B positions without destroying the matrix
structure, offering a way of correlating solid state chemistry to
catalytic properties. Moreover, their high thermal and hydrothermal
stability enable them suitable catalytic materials either for gas
or solid reactions carried out at high temperatures, or liquid reactions
carried out at low temperatures. In this review, we addressed the
preparation, characterization, and application of perovskite oxides
in heterogeneous catalysis. Preparation is an important issue in catalysis
by which materials with desired textural structure and physicochemical
property could be achieved; characterization is the way to explore
and understand the textural structures and physicochemical properties
of the material; however, application reflects how and where the material
could be used and what it can solve in practice, which is the ultimate
goal of catalysis. This review is organized in five sections: (1)
a brief introduction to perovskite oxides, (2) preparation of perovskite
oxides with different textural structures and surface morphologies,
(3) general characterizations applied to perovskite oxides, (4) application
of perovskite oxides in heterogeneous catalysis, and (5) conclusions
and perspectives. We expected that the overview on these achievements
could lead to research on the nature of catalytic performances of
perovskite oxides and finally commercialization of them for industrial
use.