In this work, catalytic steam reforming of phenol for hydrogen production was investigated. This study focuses on the effects of Ni to Co ratio supported on ZrO2 catalysts. The NixCoy/ZrO2 (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 where x + y = 4) catalysts were prepared by impregnation method. Steam reforming activity was tested in a fixed bed reactor at 600 degrees C using a feed of phenol/water mixture at a molar ratio of 1:9 and a constant liquid feed rate of 0.36 ml/min. The catalysts were characterized by BET surface area, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), NH3 Temperature-Programmed Desorption (NH3-TPD), CO2 Temperature-Programmed Desorption (CO2-TPD), H-2 Temperature-Programmed Reduction (H-2-TPR) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The increase in the Co content from 0 to 4, caused a decrease in the crystal size, the t-ZrO2 phase and the reducibility of the catalysts. However, it only slightly affected the total surface area. It was found that metallic Ni-4 and Coo catalysts have lower activity towards phenol steam reforming and deposit higher coke due to having higher acidity sites compare to bimetallic catalysts. In contrast, Ni3Co1 displayed a superior catalytic activity among all the catalysts, suggesting the presence of the highest basic site and high coking resistance. Phenol conversion of 53.5% and hydrogen yield of 50.4% were achieved with the Ni3Co1 catalyst, even though its activity decreased by increasing the cobalt content. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.