An attractive possibility to simplify a fuel cell system would be the use of a sulfur-tolerant reforming catalyst. In an effort to find such a catalyst, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium catalysts supported on ceria doped with 20% gadolinium and on pure ceria were synthesized and characterized. A temperature-programmed reduction study of the reduction behavior of the catalysts showed that the doping of ceria with gadolinium enhances the low temperature reduction, while the high temperature reduction is suppressed. The activity as well as the stability of the catalysts can be correlated with the reducibility of the materials. The most stable catalyst, rhodium supported on gadolinium doped ceria, shows promising sulfur-tolerance. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.