Ni-Zr-O nanoparticles with various Zr contents were prepared by a modified sol-gel method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning/high-resolution transmission electron microscope (SEM/HRTEM), BET surface area analysis, H-2 temperature-programmed reduction (H-2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and O-2 temperature-programmed desorption (O-2-TPD). The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (ODHE) to ethylene was applied to evaluate catalytic performance of the samples. The results show that the doping of Zr affected the cell parameter and the chemical environment of the catalysts, indicating the existence of strong interaction between Ni and Zr. The interaction plays an important role in the lessened reducibility and the distribution of adsorbed oxygen species, consequently influence their catalytic performance. The best yield to ethylene was obtained over the 10% Ni-Zr-O catalyst with 60% ethane conversion and 66% ethylene selectivity. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.