In this study, a novel LaNiO3 perovskite-based oxygen carrier with montmorillonite (MMT) support is proposed for hydrogen production from chemical looping reforming. The MMT support with lamellar structure possesses high specific surface area and favorable dispersion effect, which can effectively suppress the agglomeration of LaNiO3. Moreover, numerous spacing of MMT can facilitate the mass transfer of reactants and products, reducing the carbon deposition. The proposed LaNiO3/MMT was synthesized by the sol-gel method and characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and N-2 adsorption-desorption measurements. Results revealed that the LaNiO3 nanoparticles were uniformly deposited onto the surface of MMT and the formed oxygen carrier exhibited large specific surface area. The activity and stability of LaNiO3/MMT oxygen carrier were evaluated in a fixed-bed reactor. Results showed this new design with MMT support enhanced the activity of oxygen carrier, leading to a much higher ethanol conversion and H-2 selectivity than that of conventional LaNiO3. In addition, the long-term testing revealed the LaNiO3/MMT oxygen carrier was more resistant to the deactivation than the LaNiO3. In short, the novel LaNiO3/MMT oxygen carrier developed in this work exhibits high redox activity and stability and provides a promising potential for chemical looping reforming in industrial application. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.