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Carbon dioxide methanation was carried out over a series of Ni-CexZr1-xO2 catalysts prepared by a pseudo sol-gel method. The influence of CeO2/ZrO2 mass ratio and noble metal addition was investigated. The catalysts were subsequently characterized by means of XRD,TPR, BET, H-2-TPD and SEM-EDX. The modification of structural and redox properties of these materials was evaluated in relation with their catalytic performances. All catalysts gave impressive CO2 conversion and extremely high selectivity to methane (superior to 98%). Ni2+ incorporation into the CZ structure was proved to enhance catalysts specific activity. The global performance of the studied systems depended not only on the surface of available metallic nickel but also on the composition of the support and on its modification by Ni2+ doping. As a result of these two phenomena, the Ni-based mixed oxide having a CeO2/ZrO2 = 60/40 exhibited the highest catalytic activity, owing to an optimal Ni2+/Ni-0 ratio. Noble metal addition led to higher Ni dispersion, resulting in a raise of both activity and catalyst life-time. It did not modify the support intrinsic activity. The deactivation was shown not to be due to carbon deposits but rather to nickel particles sintering. The investigated parameters thus allowed an improvement of the previously studied 5 wt% Ni-Ce0.72Zr0.28O2 system. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.