CO methanation over supported Ni catalysts has recently attracted increasing attentions. However, the low temperature activity and stability of Ni catalysts still need to be improved. In this work, a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma decomposition of nickel nitrate was performed at atmospheric pressure and around 150 degrees C. Followed by the hydrogen reduction thermally at 500 degrees C, a highly dispersed Ni/ZrO2 catalyst with intensified Ni-ZrO2 interaction and significantly improved activity for CO methanation was obtained. The DBD plasma decomposed catalyst effectively promotes CO dissociation as well as further hydrogenation. In addition, more reactive atomic carbon is formed on the Ni active sites. Such carbon species can be quickly removed by H-2 gasification, keeping the Ni surface clean. A better balance between CO dissociation and carbon gasification has been achieved with enhanced carbon resistance. Therefore the DBD plasma decomposed catalyst can remain active under lower H-2/CO ratios, while the calcined catalyst needs higher H-2/CO feed ratio to overcome the catalyst deactivation.