Catalytic activities of supported Pd were investigated for low temperature oxidation of methane. Pd/SnO2 catalysts demonstrated excellent activity for methane oxidation in spite of their low surface area. The catalytic activity of Pd/SnO2 was strongly affected by the preparation procedure. Impregnation of Pd on SnO2 using aqueous solution of Pd(CH3COO)(2) was most effective in enhancing the catalytic activity. The catalytic activity was also improved when well-crystallized SnO2 was employed as a support material. TEM observations revealed that catalytic activity is strongly influenced by the dispersion state of Pd. For the active catalysts, strong interaction between Pd and SnO2 support was observed in the adsorption of oxygen.