The kinetics of oxidation of vanillin (VAN) by permanganate ion in neutral medium has been investigated spectrophtometrically. The stoichiometry of the reaction was found to be 3:2 (VAN: MnO4 - ). The oxidation reaction exhibited a first order dependence in [MnO4 - ] and less than unit order dependence with respect to vanillin concentration. Addition of small amounts of Ag(I), Co(II) and Ru(III) catalysts increased the oxidation rate and the catalytic efficiency increased in the order: Ru(III) > Ag(I) > Co(II). The proposed oxidation mechanism involves formation of a 1:1 intermediate complex between vanillin and permanganate ion in pre-equilibrium step. The final oxidation product of vanillin was identified by both spectral and chemical analysis as vanillic acid. The appropriate rate law was deduced. The reaction constants involved in the different steps of the mechanism were evaluated. The activation parameters associated with the rate constant of the slow step of the proposed mechanism along with the thermodynamic quantities of the equilibrium constant have been evaluated and discussed.