In the present work, a core-shell structured Co/SiO2@HZSM-5 catalyst was prepared for hydrogen production from syngas of plastic waste gasification. The cobalt catalyst was coated with HZSM-5 shell through a hydrothermal process, and the Co/SiO2@HZSM-5, with different loadings of HZSM-5 (e.g., 10-30 wt %) exhibited excellent activity and durability for dehydrogenation reactions. The amount of HZSM-5 was found to be an important factor for hydrogen production. Temperature-programmed reduction with H-2 and temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia was applied to determine the active site and the acidity of prepared catalyst, respectively. The prepared Co/SiO2@HZSM-5 was tested through reforming of plastic gasification syngas and shown superior hydrogen production ability (similar to 90%) and stability (over 15 h). The effects of reduction-oxidation behavior on the catalytic performance were also discussed. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.