Carbon dioxide reforming of methane has been performed over zirconia-supported nickel catalysts. Temperature-programmed surface reactions (TPSR) with CH4 and CO2 have also been investigated over the catalysts by means of thermogravimetric analysis technique to explore the behavior of carbon formation during the reaction. The effect of the modification of the zirconia support on supported Ni catalysts reveals that the ceria-doped zirconia support exhibits high catalyst stability against high temperature aging test as well as high resistance to coke formation. Moreover, simultaneous alteration of the support and Ni surface of Ni/ZrO2 with a Ce modifier and a Ca promoter led to a high performance catalyst, Ni-Ca/Ce-ZrO2, revealing high activity as well as high stability in the CO2 reforming of methane. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.