Hydroxyapatite as a green and abundant material was found to enhance the stabilization of gold nanoparticles against sintering. The origins of such stabilization of HAP on supported gold nanoparticles were investigated in the present study. Phosphate groups interacted and stabilized nano-gold at lower temperature (≤ 400 °C), while hydroxyl group contributed to the stabilization at higher temperature (≤ 600 °C). Both of them contributed to the strong sintering-resistant for calcination as high as 600 °C. For the first time we found that Au/HAP and Au/CeO2/HAP catalysts are highly active and stable for formaldehyde and benzene oxidation.