Highly ordered mesoporous ruthenium dioxide (meso-RuO 2 ) has been successfully synthesized by controlling the surface hydrophobicity of a mesoporous silica template (KIT-6) via a nano-replication method. The meso-RuO 2 material, thus obtained, exhibits a well-defined mesostructure and high surface area (131 m 2 g -1 ). The physicochemical properties of the meso-RuO 2 material are characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, N 2 adsorption-desorption, temperature programmed techniques, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Pretreatment of the meso-RuO 2 catalyst under different gas environments (O 2 , H 2 and CO) strongly affects the catalytic activity towards CO oxidation. The meso-RuO 2 , pretreated by O 2 flowing at 200°C, exhibited excellent catalytic activity for CO oxidation, 100% CO conversion with long-term stability at room temperature, whereas the meso-RuO 2 catalysts with pretreatment under other conditions are not very active at room temperature. It is found that the surface oxygen species generated on the meso-RuO 2 during O 2 pretreatment at 200°C provide CO oxidation activity at room temperature.