Nanostructured alumina supported copper oxide granular sorbents were prepared by the sol-gel method. The properties of the sol-gel derived sorbents were compared with a similar commercial sorbent which has been used in the pilot scale moving-bed copper oxide process for flue gas treatment. The crushing strength of the sol-gel derived sorbents is about 6–7 times that of the commercial samples, while the attrition rate of the former is at least 3 times smaller. At temperatures below 400 °C, SO 2 sorption capacity of the sol-gel derived sorbent is about 3 times that of the commercial sorbent with a similar amount of CuO loading (7–9 wt%). The better mechanical properties and higher sulfation capacity of the sol-gel derived alumina supported copper oxide sorbents are due to their unique microstructure and the coating method for CuO.