By characterizing fresh and used Mo/HMCM-22 catalysts with ICP-AES, XRD, NH3-TPD technique, UV - Vis DRS and UV Raman spectroscopy, the reactivity of Mo species for methane partial oxidation into formaldehyde were directly studied with a new point of view. By comparing the fresh and used catalysts, it was found that the tetrahedral Mo species bonding chemically to the support surface were practically unchanged after the reaction, while the polymolybdate octahedral Mo species, which had a rather weak interaction with the MCM-22 zeolite, leached out during the reaction, especially when the Mo loading was high. Correspondingly, it was found from the time-on-stream reaction data that the HCHO yield remained unchanged, while COx decreased with the reaction time during the reaction. By combining the characterization results and the reaction data, it can be drawn that the isolated tetrahedral molybdenum oxo-species (T-d) is responsible for HCHO formation, while the octahedral polyoxomolybdate species (O-h) will lead to the total oxidation of methane.