Zr-containing CuO/ZnO catalysts are examined for their use in the reaction of methanol with water to produce hydrogen. Catalyst samples with varying compositions were prepared by means of a coprecipitation method, and the effect of different pretreatment conditions was examined. Activity testing shows that the catalysts do not require prereduction to obtain good activity for the steam reforming of methanol, although prereduction with diluted H-2 increases activity in some cases. The catalysts were characterized using BET surface area analysis, Cu surface area analysis, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), thermo-gravimetric analysis with differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Characterization suggests that the most active steam-reforming catalysts initially consist of CuO, ZnO, and a high surface area amorphous phase of zirconia that contains carbonates; however, partial reduction of surface copper during the reaction is apparent from XPS results. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.