The performance of catalytic membrane reactor with Pd-coated V membrane was examined for steam reforming of propane. The long term reforming experiment confirmed the stability of the V membrane with high hydrogen selectivity and permeability. The effect of types of hydrogen permeable membranes on the performance of the catalytic membrane reactor was studied by comparing Pd-coated V, Pd-23Ag, and Pd-10Ag membranes. The types of hydrogen separation membranes (i.e. hydrogen removal rates) did not have a marked effect on the propane conversion rates, while the product compositions were largely influenced by the hydrogen removal rate. Varying metal oxide supports of Ni-catalysts resulted in significant differences in the product compositions. Further, the evaluation of various catalyst-support systems (9wt%Ni-1wt%W/CeO2, M = Co, Pt, Ag, Ru) revealed that hydrogen yield was the highest when 1wt%Ag was added to Ni/CeO2. However, it was also found that excessive secondary metal additions can have negative impact on the catalytic behaviour of parent catalysts. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.