For the catalytic pyrolysis of heavy oil on catalyst CEP-1, coking behavior was investigated in a confined fluidized bed reactor. Coke content on the spent catalyst decreases with the increase of H/C mol ratio of feeds and catalyst-to-oil weight ratio, while it increases with the enhancement of reaction temperature. An empirical model is proposed to predict the coke content based on feed properties and operating conditions. The predicted coke content is close to the experimental data. The relationship between micro-activity index of catalysts and coke content is studied. A coking deactivation model for pyrolyzing catalysts is established, and then model parameters are determined by the least square regression analysis. According to the deactivation model, the variations of relative activity of catalysts with both residence time of catalysts and catalyst-to-oil weight ratio are predicted. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.