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This paper summarizes a program to investigate the impact of a variety of oxygenates on diesel exhaust emissions, especially particulate matter (PM) and NOx emissions. Oxygenates have been studied at great length already and have been shown to be an effective method for reducing particulate emissions, although high cost remains a barrier to their widespread use. Our objectives were to assess whether some oxygenates could be more effective than others and why. Fourteen different oxygenates were studied. Testing was carried out primarily in a single cylinder heavy duty Caterpillar engine under high and low load conditions. Complementary testing was performed in three vehicles spanning a range of vehicle technologies. Most of the testing used a single base fuel which served as the reference fuel although some tests were also done using a newly produced ultra low sulfur automotive diesel oil (ULSADO). Larger particulate matter reductions were found at high load than at low load.