XPS analysis provides qualitative, quantitative and chemical state information for surface elements of solid materials. Therefore, XPS is widely applied in the characterization of refining catalyst. In the present paper, the applications of XPS in the field of typical refining catalysts, including hydrogenation catalyst, S Zorb sorbent and rare-earth modified Y zeolite, are illustrated and exemplified. For sulfided Co(Ni)-Mo(W)/Al2O3(-SiO2) hydrodesulfurization catalysts, the anhydrous oxygen-free transfer process from the reactor to XPS chamber was illustrated. The identification and peak fitting of S(2p), Mo(3d), W(4f), Co(2p) and Ni(2p) XPS spectra were summarized. The typical chemical states of the active elements were described. Based on these results, the sulfidation extents of the active metals and the cause for the sulfidation inadequency of the catalysts were deduced. As for the application of XPS in S Zorb sorbent, the existence form of zinc was obtained from ZnLMM Auger spectra, and the fracture mechanism and deactivation reason of the sorbent were derived. The distribution of sulfur along the vertical direction was investigated using XPS and argon ion sputtering XPS. Besides, in situ XPS was applied to study the conversion of sulfur- and nickel-containing species for spent sorbent under hydrogen condition. Finally, for cerium modified Y zeolite, the location of cerium ion inside and outside Y zeolite cage was investigated. The results indicate that the liquid phase method is more suitable for the migration of cerium ion toward zeolite as compared with the solid phase method.