Silica supported Ni catalyst is highly active for the CO2 reforming of methane but it has poor stability due to coke formation. In this work, a glow discharge plasma was applied for the decomposition of nickel nitrate on the SiO2 support, followed by thermal calcination in air. The plasma treatment enhances the interactions between the Ni particles and the silica and significantly improves the Ni dispersion. The plasma-treated Ni/SiO2 catalyst exhibits comparable activity to the Ni/SiO2 catalyst prepared by the thermal method without plasma treatment. The coke resistance of the Ni/SiO2 catalyst is significantly enhanced by the plasma treatment. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.