Highly dispersed bimetallic Rh-Ni nanoparticles with an average diameter of 1.1 +/- 0.2 nm have been successfully anchored on the metal-organic frameworks (ZIF-8) by using a simple liquid impregnation method. The RhNi ZIF-8 nanocatalysts are isolated from the solution and well characterized by using powder XRD, TEM, EDX, XPS, ICP-AES, and N-2 adsorption-desorption. Among all the tested catalysts with different compositions, Rh15Ni85@ZIF-8 exhibits the highest catalytic activity toward hydrolysis of ammonia borane, with the turnover frequency value of 58.8 mol H-2.min(-1).(mol catalyst)(-1), and 100% hydrogen selectivity at room temperature. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.