The autothermal dry reforming of methane was performed using natural illite clay as catalyst support. Nickel containing Ce or La promoted catalysts were characterized by XRD and XPS analysis before reaction, after the reduction step and also after 24 h of reaction. The highest catalytic stability was obtained on the La-based catalyst. This result was attributed to the formation of a britholite phase during the reaction resulting from the migration of lanthanum into the bulk. This particular phase could prevent the formation of the FeNi3 alloy mainly observed on Ce-based material which is presumably much less active than metallic Ni particles towards the dry reforming reaction, A deep surface reconstruction, evidenced by XPS, proceeds during the reaction which complement structural characterization showing significant surface changes in Ni species that cooperate with the basic sites leading to higher catalytic activity and stability. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.