Bimetallic catalysts of cobalt and nickel supported over alumina were studied through Fischer-Tropsch synthesis aiming to achieve the co-production of methane and synthetic oil. Temperature-programmed reduction profiles suggested that 10Co-10Ni/Al2O3 had a relatively lower reducing temperature at 383 degrees C compared with monometallic catalysts. Bimetallic catalysts showed higher selectivity towards light hydrocarbons compared with Co catalysts. 10Co-10Ni/Al2O3 possessed the lowest CO2 selectivity and a relatively high C-5+ fraction, and it exhibited distinct behaviors in comparison with the physical mixture of 20Co/Al2O3 and 20Ni/Al2O3. Reaction temperature played an obvious role in product distribution while selectivity towards CH4 would achieve 15.96% at 250 degrees C.