<p>Pure bulk Ga₂O₃ and Ga₂O₃ doped with lanthanum have been prepared and tested in the dehydrogenation of propane. The catalytic tests were carried out using a flow-type reactor at 600&#xa0;°C at atmospheric pressure. It was found that of the two catalysts, doped gallium oxide is more active in the dehydrogenation of propane to propylene. Bare Ga₂O₃ provides the initial conversion of propane of 20%, whereas the doped La-Ga₂O₃ catalyst provides the initial conversion of 28%. The doped gallium oxide also demonstrates a higher stability. Studies using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques have shown that the modification with lanthanum leads to dispersion of gallium oxide nanoparticles (NPs) and to changes in their crystal structure. Bare Ga₂O₃ is single phase and mainly consists of the monoclinic <i>β</i>-Ga₂O₃ phase with an average size of NPs of approximately 15&#xa0;nm. In contrast, doped gallium oxide contains a significant amount of the <i>γ</i>-Ga₂O₃ phase with a spinel-type structure, and its NPs have an average size of 2.5&#xa0;nm. These changes promote the formation of an excess amount of coordinatively unsaturated tetracoordinated Ga³⁺ sites on the surface of La-Ga₂O₃, which improve its catalytic performance.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>