Se/ZrO2 can be prepared via the reaction of readily available zirconia with NaHSe.The material can catalyze the oxidation of phenol to prepare p-benzoquinone.Compared with traditional selenium-catalyzed oxidation reactions,this reac-tion does not require the use of chemical oxidants,but can directly utilize molecular oxygen as the oxidant,significantly re-ducing synthesis costs and being relatively safe.Se/ZrO2 is a stable selenium-containing material that can be recycled and re-used for multiple times without deactivation.Its excellent catalytic oxidation performance is expected to be used in industry.