A series of La2O3-modified CuO-ZnO-ZrO2/HZSM-5 catalysts were prepared by an oxalate co-precipitation method. The catalysts were fully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption-desorption, hydrogen temperature pro-grammed reduction (H2-TPR), ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. The effect of the La2O3 content on the structure and performance of the catalysts was thoroughly investigated. The catalysts were evaluated for the direct synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) from CO2 hydrogenation. The results displayed that La2O3 addition enhanced catalytic performance, and the maximal CO2 conversion (34.3%) and DME selectivity (57.3%) were obtained over the catalyst with 1% La2O3, which due to the smaller size of Cu species and a larger ratio of Cu+/Cu.