Through the reaction of methane reforming with CO2, the influence of calcination temperature on the NiO/MgO catalyst prepared by impregnation was investigated. Results indicated that the NiO/MgO catalyst torrefied at 800 degrees C displayed stronger interactions between metal and support, and also exhibited higher activity. In order toprovide further insight into the adsorption and hydrogenated dissociation of CO2, the reaction over both the MgO and NiO/MgO catalysts were separately analyzed by temperature programmed desorption and temperature programmed surface reaction-mass spectrometer. It was demonstrated that the NiO/MgO catalyst calcined at 800 degrees C displayed stronger and more active sites for the adsorption of CO2 and that the presence of surface H would promote the dissociation of CO2 into CO. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.