When ZrO2 -promoter was added to CuZnAlO catalyst, its methanol conversion H-2 yield and H-2 selectivity improved greatly during production of hydrogen by methanol steam reforming. Using COPZr-2 catalyst that expressed best catalytic performance as an example, the optimized reaction conditions were first confirmed. Then the 150 h stability test of COPZr-2 catalyst showed that the catalyst had good stability: methanol conversion and H-2 yield were kept at 88% and 83%, respectively; and outlet H-2 and CO content were > 63% and 0.20-0.31%, respectively. A series of techniques, such as SEM, XRD, XPS, were used to characterize the catalysts with or without ZrO2-promoter. SEM and XRD results show that ZrO2-promoter can improve the dispersion of CuO and Cu crystallites. XPS results show that ZrO2-promoter can lower Al content on the surface of catalyst in effect, and weaken the interaction between CuO and Al2O3 so as to avoid the generation of CuAl2O4 spinel-type compound. (C) 2004 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.