A series of oxides (La2 - xCexCoO4 +/- y) with perovskite-like structure were prepared by the Pechini sol-gel method for dry reforming of methane reaction (DRM). The prepared catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, TGA, H-2-TPR and SEM. Experimental results indicate that the addition of Ce can impact both sample morphology and catalytic performance significantly compared with La2CoO4 catalyst, and LaCeCoO4 presented the highest catalytic ability among all the samples. The Cc addition tends to increase the specific surface area of La2 - xCexCoO4 +/- y from 0.2 to 8.5 m(2).g(-1), suggesting that LaCeCoO4 catalyst contained more well-dispersed active sites and more space to reaction. Moreover, the catalytic performance and anti-coking ability were substantially improved after Ce addition during DRM, which may be attributed to the decrease of LaCoO3 particle size and growth of oxygen storage capacity, respectively. (C) 2018 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.