Dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene in the presence or absence of CO2 over Au catalysts supported on nanorod and nanoparticle ceria was investigated. The nanorod CeO2 supported Au exhibits higher activity as well as higher stability, with an ethane conversion of 17% and ethylene selectivity of 98% without any observable trend of deactivation in 6 h. The surface oxygen reducibility of the catalysts plays an important role in the dehydrogenation which can be greatly enhanced by the addition of Au. The promoting effect of CO2 on stability is caused by reducing coke by the Boudouard reaction and supplementing the reducible oxygen specie of CeO2 surface sustainably. [GRAPHICS] .