Preparation of nickel-alumina washcoating on a honeycomb monolith for the ethanol partial oxidation taking at very low residence time was presented. The catalyst presented good dispersion of gamma-Al(2)O(3) and NiO over the cordierite surface and could be efficient to the ethanol dehydrogenation reaction at low temperatures, as well as it is suitable to intensify hydrogen production due to its good activity for reforming reaction at higher temperatures. As temperature increased, all ethanol was converted by decomposition and this catalyst showed good ability to promote the water-gas shift reaction. The hydrated ethanol increased the ethanol conversion and H(2) production. The high CO(2)/CO molar ratio suggested that the water-gas shift inverse reaction equilibrium was achieved. The NiO/Al(2)O(3)/cordierite was run during few days presenting a large amount of carbon deposition. The FEG-SEM images are in agreement with DTA/TG and Raman results indicating the presence of well-defined filamentous carbon structures. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.