Mixed metal oxides containing ceria and zirconia have been studied as high temperature desulfurization sorbents with the objective of achieving the DOE Vision 21 target of 1 ppmv or less H(sub 2)S in the product gas. The research was justified by recent results in this laboratory that showed that reduced CeO(sub 2), designated CeOn (1.5 < n < 2.0), is capable of achieving the 1 ppmv target in highly reducing gas atmospheres. The addition of ZrO(sub 2) has improved the performance of oxidation catalysts and three-way automotive catalysts containing CeO(sub 2), and was postulated to have similar beneficial effects on CeO(sub 2) desulfurization sorbents.