Keggin-type 12-phosphomolybdic acid with molybdenum partially substituted by vanadium and protons partially substituted by alkali and transition metals was synthesized for the selective oxidation of methacrolein to methacrylic acid. The structures of the catalysts were studied by FT-IR, XRD, TG-DTA and BET. The effects of the additive amount of PEG400, calcination temperature and the content of Cs on the catalytic performance were investigated. Results show that specific surface areas of the catalysts increase with the increase of PEG400 amount; PEG400 is removed at 250 °C and the primary structure of the catalysts is not changed with the addition of PEG400. The conversion and selectivity increase with the Cs content, and then decrease. The catalyst with the ratio of Cs+: heteropoly anion=1:1 exhibits good catalytic performance for the selective oxidation of MAL. Under the optimum conditions, the conversion of MAL and selectivity of MAA are 76.4% and 83.6% respectively.