This paper reveals the key importance of surface oxygen defects in the oxidation catalytic activity of nanostructured ceria. A series of nanostructured rods and cubes with different physico-chemical properties have been synthesised, characterised and tested in the total toluene oxidation. The variation of the temperature and base concentration during the hydrothermal syntheses of nanostructured ceria leads not only to different ceria morphologies with high shape purity, but also to structures with tuneable surface areas and defect concentrations. Ceria nanorods present a higher surface area and a higher concentration of bulk and surface defects than nanocubes associated with their exposed crystal planes, leading to high oxidation activities. However, for a given morphology, the catalytic activity for toluene oxidation is directly related to the concentration of surface oxygen defects and not the overall concentration of oxygen vacancies as previously believed.