Steam reforming of methane has been carried out aimed at the development of new and highly active catalysts for H 2 production. The catalytic properties of Ni catalysts supported on various supports have been investigated in connection with characterization results obtained from XRD, H 2 chemisorption, TPR and CO 2 -TPD. Among the catalysts examined, Ni/Ce-ZrO 2 exhibited the best activity and stability. The remarkable catalytic performance is interpreted as a combined result of high oxygen storage capacity of ceria in Ce-ZrO 2 , strong interaction between Ni and Ce-ZrO 2 , basic property of the catalyst and rather high capability of H 2 uptake.