Hydrogen production from water with S2- as a reductant under hydrothermal conditions is an effective new method, in which S2- is oxidized into S2O32-, SO32- and SO42-. However, the reactor wall had great effect on hydrogen production as large amount hydrogen is produced with Hastelloy C-22 reactor while almost no hydrogen generated in SUS 316 reactor. Therefore, the influence of main components of Hastelloy C-22 reactor (Co/W/Ni) and SUS 316 reactor (Fe) on hydrogen production with H2S as the reductant was investigated. The results showed that Fe had negative effect, whereas W, Co and Ni had significant positive effect on improving hydrogen production. These results provided a possible explanation for no hydrogen generated with SUS 316 reactor, and some suggestions for improving hydrogen production. The highest hydrogen production of 199 mL (2 times than the control) was obtained with 4.00 mmol Co, 4.00 mmol W, and 1.00 mmol Ni. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.