Nickel catalysts supported on nanocrystalline CeO2 were prepared with impregnation method and employed in methane partial oxidation. The prepared catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, TPR, SEM and TPO techniques. The effect of Ni loading on the catalytic performance of the catalysts was investigated and the results showed that 10% Ni/CeO2 catalyst possessed the highest catalytic activity. This catalyst showed high stability exposed to the reaction conditions for 48 h without any decrease in activity and selectivity. The results also showed that increasing in O-2/CH4 molar ratio from 0.25 to 0.75 decreased the amount of deposited carbon and increased methane conversion. Also, with increasing the reaction temperature, amount of deposited carbon slightly increased. The results indicated that methane conversion decreased with increasing the catalyst calcination temperature due to sintering and decreasing in surface area. Copyright (C) 2016, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.