The control over physical and chemical parameters of nanoparticles, such as shape, composition and size as well as the interactions between metal and support, are important factors in the development of a nanocatalyst with high activity. In this context, gold nanoparticles were incorporated the surface of ceria nanowire for application as nanocatalysts towards the selective oxidation of thioanisole. Considerin their one-dimensional morphology, high specific surface area, thin diameters, significant concentration of oxygen vacancies, and small Au NPs uniformly deposited at the CeO2 nanowires surface, our material displayed characteristics that makes them favorable for oxidations reactions. The CeO2-Au nanowires showed improved catalytic performances in the selective oxidation of thioanisol relative to pure CeO2 nanowires and commercial CeO2 with and without Au NPs deposited. CeO2-Au nanowires catalyzed the desired product with 100 percent of selectivity and 53 percent of conversion. The impact of temperature, such as the solvent, were also observed revealing that these factors also influences in the activity of these nanocatalyst.