Steam oxidative cracking route of 1-methyl naphthalene were investigated through the combination of oxidation and hydrogenation over nickel-containing mixed oxide catalysts. Depending on the used supports, several types of active sites for oxidation, hydrogenation, and steam decomposition were generated by various metal-support and support-support interactions. The steam reforming routes were dominant without nickel, resulting in high carbon selectivity of gas due to a full-cracking process. With nickel, steam oxidative cracking routes were strongly enhanced by a synergistic combination between hydrogenation occurring on the Ni metallic sites and oxidation over mobile lattice oxygens in a CexZr1-xO2 solid solution, resulting to the higher carbon selectivity of liquid products than that of gas products. Among the prepared catalysts, optimal interaction between Ni and ceria-zirconia-alumina mixed oxide support caused not only an increase of oxygen vacancies in solid solutions, but also the formation of smaller Ni metallic nanoparticles, resulting in reinforcement of steam oxidative cracking of 1-methylnaphthanlene. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.