Methane transformation was examined under barrier discharge conditions by using a new developed laboratory quartz-glass reactor with the internal HV (18 W) and external grounded electrodes, operated at frequency of 50 Hz, 1 atm. over 40-300degreesC. Reactions were examined in the mixtures CH4 + Ar and CH4 + CO2 + Ar; ethane and H2 were the main gas products. A part of CH4 was converted into non-volatile products deposited on the electrode and the reactor wall. As the residence time inside the discharge gap was increased from 5 to 50 s, the overall CH4 conversion rose to 35-37%. With CH4 concn. in CH4 + Ar mixture raised from 2 to 27 mol%, the overall CH4 conversion fell from 25.3 to 2.2%. The initial concn., 7.5-20 mol% CH4, affected the methane reaction rate only slightly, The addition of CO2 over CO2/CH4 = 0 - 0.05, increased the overall CH4 conversion from 7 to 9%, but the rise upwards of 0.05 was ineffective. In was concluded that, under the conditions of barrier discharges, methane transformations can be terminated after one of the initial steps of the process when ethane is produced.