In situ synthesis of LaMnAl11O19 hexaaluminate in Al2O3 layer coated on the surface of FeCrAl alloy foil is explored in this work. The synthesized plate-like hexaaluminate grains display two morphologies of vertically embedded in and horizontally covered on Al2O3 intermediate layer and the prepared composite hexaaluminate-Al2O3 intermediate layer effectively improved the adhesion stability of the metallic monolithic catalyst. The resulting samples were characterized by XRD, TEM-EDX, SEM, and the formation and the adhesion mechanisms of hexaaluminate were proposed. The adhesion stability and catalytic activity were also evaluated. The behavior indicated that the introduction of hexaaluminate can maintain the high catalytic activity as well as improve the adhesion stability. This preparation strategy can be potentially extended to synthesize other supported catalysts with the same metal source between support and other components. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.