The development of the catalyst suitable for the catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) of natural gas was investigated for the efficient production of synthesis gas. The catalyst of Rh/CeO(2) + ZrO(2) + MgO was found to show higher catalytic performance than Rh/MgO. The additional effect of CeO(2) and ZrO(2) to Rh/MgO on catalytic property was studied by H(2)-TPR, isotopic oxygen exchange reaction and DRIFT spectroscopy. And it was revealed that the state of Rh can maintain metallic phase during the CPOX reaction, and that oxygen can be supplied from lattice oxygen, and that adsorbed CO can desorb easily. The application of foam monolith catalyst coated with developed support materials to high pressure and short contact time CPOX reaction has been investigated, and we have succeeded in demonstrating the stable catalytic performance for 2000 h at 1.0 MPa and 500,000 h(-1) GHSV. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.