The influence of hydrogen on the catalytic coupling reaction of CO was tested ar reaction temperatures of 105similar to120degreesC and a residence time of 1.8 s. The formation rate of diethyl oxalate (DEO) decreases with the addition of hydrogen to the system. Increasing hydrogen concentration and reaction temperature, the apparent rate of main reaction or the yield of DEO decreases more quickly. But the deactivation rate does not change with the relative activity. By correlating the experimental data, the deactivation kinetics was obtained.