A cerium doped ternary SnO2 based oxides anode that is CeO2-RuO2-SnO2 (Ce-Ru-SnO2) anode, was prepared by facile thermal decomposition technique. XRD was used to characterize the crystal structures of modified SnO2 anodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and accelerated life test were also utilized to study the electrochemical property of Ce-Ru-SnO2 anode. The results indicated that Ce-Ru-SnO2 anode possessed smaller charge transfer resistance and longer service life than other modified SnO2 anodes. Oxidants, such as hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide and hypochlorite ions were determined. Electrochemical oxidation of nitrophenols (NPs) were conducted and compared with previous studies. The degradation of nitrophenols revealed two distinguishing laws for mononitrophenol and multinitrophenols. The Ce-Ru-SnO2 anode is considered to be a promising material for the treatment of organic pollutants due to its high electrochemical activity and benign stability. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.