Abstract: Aiming at the low utilization rate of low-grade palygorskite in Linze area, MnO_x/purifing palygorskite clay rich iron (PPCI) hybrid catalysts were prepared by the redox reaction method between KMnO₄ and (NH₄)₂C₂O₄ via using low-grade PPCI from Linze as the support. The δ-MnO₂/PPCI catalyst with Mn loading of 33.6wt% has excellent performance for formaldehyde oxidation at room temperature, which maintains more than effective 99% formaldehyde removal rate within 720 minutes. In contrast, the effective formaldehyde removal rate of the unloaded δ-MnO₂ sample is only 87% after 720 min. Also, the removal rate of formaldehyde with initial concentration of 146.6 mg/m³ is more than 95% in 1h. The above results reveal that the introduction of palygorskite clay as the support greatly improves the efficiency of the MnO_x/PPCI hybrid catalysts at room temperature. The formaldehyde oxidation kinetics results follow the second-order kinetics. Manganese oxide was highly distributed on the surface of palygorskite, resulting in a larger specific surface area (73.2 m²/g) and expose more Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ couples, which improves the redox capacity and electrochemical activity of the composite catalyst and contributes to the process of formaldehyde degradation eventually. Based on the analysis results of in-situ DRFTS, the formation and conversion of formaldehyde on the surface of catalysts were revealed. Formaldehyde is first converted to dioxymethylene (DOM) by surface hydroxyl groups (–OH), and then oxidized to formate species (HCOO⁻) by surface active oxygen, HCOO⁻ is finally oxidized to CO₂ and H₂O. The consumed -OH groups can be compensated from the activation of O₂ via water and surface-active oxygen species reaction. This work paves a new road to utilizing low-grade palygorskite clay as compo-site catalysts for air purification at room temperature.