A series of NiO/ZnO/ZrO2 (15 wt% NiO) catalysts were compared in terms of their H-2 selectivity in the ethanol steam reforming reaction. A catalyst with 31 wt% ZrO2 proved to be superior to the other catalysts at 923K. For this catalyst, the effects of reaction temperature, liquid hourly space velocity (LHSV) and molar ratio of water to ethanol (H2O/EtOH) on the steam reforming of ethanol were studied. At T = 923 K, LHSV = 4.8 h(-1), and H2O/EtOH = 13: 1, the H2 selectivity reached 74.3 mol% and no CH4 was detected. This catalyst also showed rather stable performance over a time-on-stream of 60 h, without any deactivation under the operating condition (923 K) of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). (C) 2007 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.