Partial oxidation of methane to methanol via post-plasma catalysis using a dielectric-barrier discharge was performed under mild reaction conditions. Air was used as the oxidizing co-reactant because of its economical practicality. Three catalysts impregnated with Pt, Fe2O3, CeO2 on ceramic supports located downstream of the discharge zone were examined for increased selectivity towards methanol. It was found that all three catalysts had no significant effect on the conversion of methane, but enhanced methanol selectivity, which could be explained by a two-stage reaction mechanism. The Fe2O3-based catalyst showed the best catalytic activity, and high stability in the reaction. The methanol selectivity of the Fe2O3-assisted plasma process was 36% higher than that of the non-catalytic system at a rather low catalyst temperature (150 degrees C). In addition, the effects of input power, discharge frequency, discharge gap distance, total flow rate, and methane/air ratio on methane conversion and methanol yield were also studied. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.