Experiments have been conducted for the dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene using a high-temperature catalytic membrane reactor under isothermal conditions. Typically, conversions of up to 7 times (cocurrent mode) and 8 times (countercurrent mode) higher than the equilibrium value achievable in conventional fixed-bed reactors have been attained at high sweep flow rates. The membrane used in this study was a thin layer of Pd-23 wt% Ag on porous Vycor glass. The significant improvement in the ethane conversion is attributed to the exclusive and continuous permeation of hydrogen through the membrane.