High value-added aromatic aldehydes (e.g. vanillin and syringaldehyde) were produced from heavy fraction of bio-oil (HFBO) via catalytic oxidation. The concept is based on the use of metalloporphyin as catalyst and hydrogen peroxide ($H_2O_2$) as oxidant under alkaline condition. The biomimetic catalyst cobalt(II)-sulfonated tetraphenylporphyrin ($Co(TPPS_4)$) was prepared and characterized. It exhibited relative high activity in the catalytic oxidation of HFBO. 4.57 wt % vanillin and 1.58 wt % syringaldehyde were obtained from catalytic oxidation of HFBO, compared to 2.6 wt % vanillin and 0.86 wt % syringaldehyde without $Co(TPPS_4)$. Moreover, a possible mechanism of HFBO oxidation using $Co(TPPS_4)/H_2O_2$ was proposed by the research of model compounds. The results showed that this is a promising and environmentally friendly method for production of aromatic aldehydes from HFBO under $Co(TPPS_4)/H_2O_2$ system.