The catalytic combustion of carbon black (CB) used as a model of diesel soot in tight contact with a commercial ceria (CeO2) was investigated. Oxygen mole fractions of 10, 5, and 1% in the gas phase were tested in order to gain a better understanding of the redox properties of ceria and the mechanism of the catalytic oxidation of carbon black. Both isothermal and temperature programmed runs are performed to extract kinetic parameters, such as activation energy and reaction order with respect to oxygen partial pressure. The experimental data are used to propose a model of CB oxidation in the presence of CeO2 allowing the simulation of carbon oxidation.