In this study, Bi1.5Y0.3Sm0.2O3-delta (BYS), an oxide of great ionic conductivity, has been used to develop Bi1.5Y0.3Sm0.2O3-delta (LSM) dual-phase ceramic hollow fibre membranes in an objective of promoting oxygen permeation that has been considered as the controlling step of our recent dual-layer ceramic hollow fibre membrane reactor (DL-CHFMR) for methane conversion, and subsequently lowering the temperature needed for both oxygen separation and catalytic reaction. Oxygen permeation of approximately 1.21 ml min(-1) cm(-2) (900 degrees C, Ar as sweep gas) was achieved by a single-layer BYS-LSM hollow fibre membrane, which is substantially higher than the previous counterpart of (ZrO2)(0.90)(Sc2O3)(0.10)(ScSZ)-LSM, proving the advantage of using BYS in promoting oxygen permeation. Although the stability of BYS in strong reducing atmosphere hampers the use of BYS-LSM/BYS-Ni DL-CHFMR for partial oxidation of methane (POM), its great ionic conductivity and catalytic activity to oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) would lead to the further development of more efficient DL-CHFMR design that can be operated at possibly lower temperatures and under less reducing atmospheres. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.