Two series of ZSM-5 and beta zeolites were pretreated in 1.0 mol/L HNO3 solution at room temper-ature for various time periods. The catalytic performances of their Fe-exchanged products in N2O decomposition were evaluated. The Fe-zeolite catalysts were characterized using N2 adsorp-tion-desorption, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, ultra-violet-visible spectroscopy, temperature-programmed desorption of NH3, and scanning and trans-mission electron microscopies. For the ZSM-5 zeolite, acid leaching primarily takes place on the crystal surface and the particle size is reduced, therefore the pore channels are shortened. However, because of the good stability of MFI zeolites, the acid does not greatly penetrate the pore channels and new mesopores are not created. For the beta zeolite, because the amorphous material is in-clined to dissolve（deagglomerate）, some of the micropores are slightly dilated. The improved cata-lytic activities can be explained by the increased active Fe loading as a result of structural changes.
