Abstract: The rodlike CuO-ZnO complex oxides were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis method. The adsorbents of Ni/CuO-ZnO were prepared by incipient-wetness impregnation method. The complex oxides and the adsorbents were characterized by TG，XRD, SEM and BET techniques. The performance of reactive adsorption desulfurization for thiophene was evaluated in a fixed bed reactor. The results indicate that the suitable calcination temperature for composite oxides and Ni/CuO-ZnO is 500 ℃. The doping of Cu effectively improves the reactive adsorption desulfurization performance, and the adsorbent with 10% CuO shows the best desulfurization activity, 17.4 percentage points higher than the reference Ni/ZnO. And the adsorbent with Cu doping is more stable, the adsorbent still remain high desulfurization activity in 45 hour.