Hydrogen energy is considered as one of the ideal solutions for the fulfilment of the ever increasing energy demand. It is mainly due to the following two reasons: firstly, it can be produced from a very abundant source, that is, water; and secondly, it does not leave any harmful effect on the environment. Thermochemical cycles are amongst the most promising ways to generate hydrogen from water in an environment-friendly manner. Sulfur-iodine cycle is one of the most efficient thermochemical cycles. In this paper, we discuss synthesis of Pt/zirconia catalysts for HI decomposition reaction, which is one of the important steps of S-I thermochemical cycle. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission gun-SEM, transmission electron microscopy, N-2 adsorption and H-2 chemisorption. The catalytic activity and stability of these catalysts, for liquid phase decomposition of hydriodic acid was evaluated. Conversion is found to be dependent on the noble metal loading, with 18.7% conversion for 2% Pt/ZrO2 catalyst as compared with 2.7% of without catalyst, although the specific activity is highest for 0.5% Pt/ZrO2 catalyst. The catalyst was found to be stable under liquid phase HI decomposition reaction conditions. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.