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In the present study, the catalytic activity of palladium oxide (PdOx) supported on ceria nanorods (CeO2-NR) for aerobic selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol (BnOH) to benzaldehyde (PhCHO) was evaluated. The CeO2-NR was synthesized hydrothermally and the Pd(NO3)2 was deposited by a wet impregnation method, followed by calcination to acquire PdOx/CeO2-NR. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), temperature programmed reduction (TPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) surface area analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, the TPR-reduced PdOx/CeO2-NR (PdOx/CeO2-NR-Red) was studied by XRD, BET, and XPS. Characterizations showed the formation of CeO2-NR with (111) exposed plane and relatively high BET surface area. PdOx (x > 1) was detected to be the major oxide species on the PdOx/CeO2-NR. The activities of the catalysts in BnOH oxidation were evaluated using air, as an environmentally friendly oxidant, and various solvents. Effects of temperature, solvent nature and palladium oxidation state were investigated. The PdOx/CeO2-NR showed remarkable activity when protic solvents were utilized. The best result was achieved using PdOx/CeO2-NR and boiling ethanol as solvent, leading to 93% BnOH conversion and 96% selectivity toward PhCHO. A mechanistic hypothesis for BnOH oxidation with PdOx/CeO2-NR in ethanol is presented.