To determine the acidic and basic properties of the title catalysts, the adsorption of NH3 and SO2 was compared using pulse method. It was found that this characteristics undergoes changes when the Sn-Mo catalyst is treated with aqueous potassium hydroxide solutions of different concentrations. The catalyst treated with the more concentrated KOH solution possesses mainly properties of a base. When studying the oxidation of ethanol it has been found that the αCO2/αaldehyde conversion ratio increases with the time of contact of the mixture with the catalyst while the αCO2/α acid ratio is not affected. The study of two alcohols deuterated either in OH group (C2H5OD) or in the alkyl group ((C2D5OH) has shown that the substitution of C-H for C-D bond enhances the stability of the primary oxidation product, deuterated ethanal, so that it is not transformed further to acetic acid.