A new material of Ce-Mg-O nanoparticle, which can be applied as catalyst support for methane combustion reaction, has been successfully synthesized and characterized by XRD. AFM and temperature-programmed reduction CHIR). It wits found that the activity of methane combustion over Ce-Mg-O as a catalyst support is optimistic (the methane conversion reaches 90% at 560 C over FeO/Ce0.1Mg0.9O11 catalyst). The design of adding alkaline-earth metals into CeO2, the typical structure of Mg2+ enters the lattice of CeO2 to form a solid solution, whose activity for methane combustion is reasonable. The effect of nanoparticle and good redox ability lire also key factors affecting catalyst activity. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.