Ni/Al2O3 catalysts doped with cerium oxide were evaluated for activity and metal dispersion to investigate the promoter effects, Enhancement in methanation activity and metal dispersion was observed with all the catalysts on CeO2 doping. Metal dispersion and activity were found to decrease with increased metal loading, An attempt to optimize the dopant concentration indicated that enhancement in activity is maximum at around 1.55 CeO2 doping. Temperature programmed reduction and temperature programmed methanation studies reveal that the reducibility is improved and the reaction temperature is lowered on CeO2 doping. The promoter effect could be attributed to the electronic interactions imparted by the dopant on the active sites under reducing conditions.