The effect of zirconia modification on γ-Al 2 O 3 support to the Cu based catalyst was studied. It is found that the catalytic activity and methanol selectivity of the catalyst after Zr addition are both improved. The influences of reaction temperature, space velocity and the molar ratio of H 2 :CO 2 on Cu/γ-Al 2 O 3 and 12Cu10Zr/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst were also studied. The results indicate that low temperature, high space velocity and proper molar ratio of H 2 /CO 2 are advantageous to methanol synthesis. The XRD and TPR characterization show that the addition of Zr enhances the dispersion of CuO species, which is responsible for the enhanced catalytic performance of Cu based catalyst supported on zirconia modified γ-Al 2 O 3 catalyst.