Hydrogen production from the gasification of lignin with Ni/MgO catalysts in supercritical water was conducted using stainless steel tube bomb reactor. Ni/MgO catalysts were prepared by impregnation method and were calcined at 773-1173 K in air for 8 h. The results of characterization for reduced Ni/MgO catalysts showed that Ni metal and NiO-MgO phase are formed after the reduction of calcined catalyst by H-2. Furthermore, Ni metal surface area, which was calculated by CO chemical adsorption technique, decreased with increase in calcination temperatures. It was found that the carbon yield of gas products was increased with increase in Ni metal surface area except 10 wt% Ni/MgO (773 K) catalyst. Thus, it can be supposed that there is an optimal Ni particle size for the gasification of lignin in supercritical water. It should be noted that 10 wt% Ni/MgO (873 K) catalyst showed the best catalytic performance (carbon yield 30%) under reaction condition tested. It was concluded that Ni/MgO catalyst is a promising system for the gasification of lignin in supercritical water. (C) 2006 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.