Manganese oxide supported Pt single atoms (Pt1/MnOx) are prepared by the molten salt method. Catalytic oxidation of toluene and iso-hexane, typical emissions from furniture paints industry, is tested. Pt1/MnOx shows poor and high catalytic stability for toluene and iso-hexane oxidation, respectively. Enhancement in the catalytic stability for toluene oxidation is observed after the hydrogen reduction treatment of Pt1/MnOx at 200 °C. The hydrogen treated catalyst possesses the weaker Mn–O bonds and lower coordination number of PtO, with superior mobility of lattice oxygen and appropriate toluene adsorption. Balancing lattice oxygen mobility and volatile organic compounds adsorption is important for the catalytic stability of Pt1/MnOx. For the oxidation of toluene and iso-hexane mixture, owing to the competitive adsorption, iso-hexane oxidation is greatly inhibited, while toluene oxidation is not influenced. The present Pt1/MnOx catalyst holds promising prospect in furniture paints industry applications because of high catalytic stability and water resistance ability. Display omitted •Single-atom Pt catalyst is synthesized via a novel one-pot molten salt strategy.•Simple H2 reduction treatment enhances the catalytic stability of single-atom Pt catalyst.•Balancing oxygen mobility and VOCs adsorption is the key for catalytic stability.•Single-atom Pt catalyst exhibits high performance for VOCs mixture removal in the presence of water.