To reduce greenhouse effects, reduction of CO2 in solid oxide electrolyser has attracted considerable attentions. Herein, a series of metallic nickel cathodes with in situ grown Cr2O3-delta nano-islands are developed for CO2 electrolysis at high temperature. Enhanced CO2 chemisorption is observed with distributed Cr2O3-delta nanoparticles on porous nickel backbone while the adsorption mechanism is discussed. The optimal current density of 2.07 A cm(-2) is harvested when using Ni/12.20% Cr2O3-delta as cathode in CO2/CO atmosphere at 800 degrees C and 1.6 V. Long-term stability is achieved for either CO2/CO or pure CO2 electrolysis even after high-temperature operation of 50 h, indicating that the Ni/Cr2O3-delta would be an attractive cathode for CO2 electrolysis at high temperature.