The Co Mg O and Co Mn Mg O catalysts are prepared by a co-precipitation method and used as the catalysts for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) through the catalytic chemical vapor deposition(CCVD). The effects of Mn addition on the carbon yield and structure are investigated. The catalysts are characterized by temperature programmed reduction(TPR) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) techniques, and the synthesized carbon materials are characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and thermo gravimetric analysis(TG). TEM measurement indicates that the catalyst Co Mg O enclosed completely in the produced graphite layer results in the deactivation of the catalyst. TG results suggest that the Co Mn Mg O catalyst has a higher selectivity for CNTs than Co Mg O. Meanwhile, different diameters of CNTs are synthesized by Co Mn Mg O catalysts with various amounts of Co content, and the results show that the addition of Mn avoids forming the enclosed catalyst, prevents the formation of amorphous carbon, subsequently promotes the growth of CNTs, and the catalyst with decreased Co content is favorable for the synthesis of CNTs with a narrow diameter distribution.The Co Mn Mg O catalyst with 40% Co content has superior catalytic activity for the growth of carbon nanotubes. The Co Mg O and Co Mn Mg O catalysts are prepared by a co-precipitation method and used as the catalysts for the synthesis of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through the catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD). The effects of Mn addition on the carbon The catalysts are characterized by temperature programmed reduction (TPR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, and the synthesized carbon materials are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and thermo gravimetric analysis measurement indicates that the catalyst Co Mg O enclosed completely in the produced graphite layer results in the deactivation of the catalyst. TG results suggest that the Co Mn MgO catalyst has a higher selectivity for CNTs than Co Mg O. Meanwhile, different diameters of CNTs are synthesized by Co Mn Mg O catalysts with various amounts of Co content, and the results show that the addition of Mn avoids forming the enclosed catalyst, prevents the formation of amor phous carbon, subsequently promoted the growth of CNTs, and the catalyst with decreased Co content is favorable for the synthesis of CNTs with a narrow diameter distribution. The Co Mn MgO catalyst with 40% Co content has superior catalytic activity for the growth of carbon nanotubes.