Hydrogen production resulting from the partial oxidation of methanol (POM) was investigated using copper-zinc-supported gold catalysts. The influence of oxygen concentration on activity and initiation temperature (T(i)) over Au(4.3)CZ (ca. 4.3 wt.% Au, 32.3 wt.% Cu and 63.4 wt.% Zn) catalysts was compared with CZ (ca. 31.7 wt.% Cu and 68.3 wt.% Zn) catalysts. The Au(4.3)CZ catalyst was able to react at temperatures lower than 195 degrees C, while CZ catalyst could not be initiated without pre-activation. In addition, Au(4.3)CZ performed higher hydrogen selectivity and lower carbon monoxide selectivity than CZ catalyst. The addition of gold might induce a change in the reducibility of copper species and result in the more active species, Cu(0) and Cu(+), on the catalytic surface and, especially, enhance the adsorption of oxygen and methoxy group at low temperature. These adsorbed oxygen atoms could be removed as CO(2), which speed up the rate-determining step of POM. It might influence initiation temperature and catalytic performance, i.e. the POM reaction can be initiated at T(i): 120 degrees C, with catalytic performance at 95% methanol conversion, 97% hydrogen selectivity, and 5.5% carbon monoxide selectivity at 190 degrees C over Au(4.3)CZ without pre-activation. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.