The invention relates to a catalyst arrangement for purifying the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines operated under lean conditions. It is proposed that a thinwalled, porous carrier be coated on one side with a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst and on the other side with an SCR catalyst. When the exhaust gas is passed through the catalytic coatings and the support material, a significant improvement in the nitrogen oxide conversion is achieved compared to a series arrangement of the catalysts on separate carriers. Wall flow filters have been found to be useful as thin-walled carriers.