[Display omitted] • A Co/CeO 2 -CN-CEP catalyst has been synthesized by coordination evaporation pyrolysis of Co-Zn-Ce coordination polymer. • Co/CeO 2 -CN-CEP exhibited excellent performance for hydrogenation-alkylation tandem reaction. • High performance was ascribed to well-dispersed Co species, intensified Co-CeO 2 -CN interaction. A novel CeO 2 supported metallic Co catalyst incorporating nitrogen doped carbon (Co/CeO 2 -CN-CEP) has been designed and synthesized by pyrolysis of Co-Zn-Ce coordination polymer (termed as Co-Zn-Ce- hmta CP) fabricated via a coordination evaporation pyrolysis (CEP) strategy. The prepared Co-Zn-Ce- hmta CP contained cross-bridging Zn2+ ions was selected as sacrificing template, which could decrease the size of metallic Co, enhance Co dispersity, strengthen Co-support (CeO 2 /CN) interaction, and generate more oxygen vacancies. All of these advantages endow developed Co/CeO 2 -CN-CEP catalyst with much better performance for tandem N -alkylation reaction for nitroarenes with alcohols in comparison to classic catalysts (Co/CeO 2 -CN-CP and Co/CeO 2 -CN-IWI). Moreover, the Co/CeO 2 -CN-CEP could be easily recycled by using a magnet for reusing five times without any loss in performance. It is anticipated that CEP strategy designed by Co-Zn-Ce- hmta CP provides a new guideline for synthesis of catalysts for other tandem catalytic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]