The present disclosure recognizes a correlation between zeolitic surface area (ZSA) of a catalyst composition and its catalytic activity. Particularly, the disclosure provides catalyst articles for diesel NOx abatement, including a substrate and a washcoat layer containing metal-promoted molecular sieves, wherein the zeolitic surface area (ZSA) of the catalyst article is about 100 m2/g or greater, the volumetric surface area is about 900 m2/in3 or greater, and/or the total zeolitic surface area (tZSA) is about 1200 m2 or greater. The disclosure further relates to methods for evaluating ZSA, volumetric ZSA, and tZSA, e.g., including the steps of coating a catalyst composition comprising metal-promoted molecular sieves onto a substrate; calcining and aging the catalyst composition; determining the ZSA (or volumetric ZSA or tZSA) thereof; and correlating the ZSA (or volumetric ZSA or tZSA) with catalyst composition NOx abatement activity to determine whether the catalyst composition is suitable for an intended use.