The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propylene has been investigated on alpha -magnesium pyrovanadate (Mg2V2O7) at 723 K in the presence and absence of tetrachloromethane (TCM). Under the present conditions, the conversion of propane and the selectivity to propylene were 5.0 and 74.5%, respectively, in the absence of TCM while those were 14.0 and 70.2%, respectively, upon addition of a small amount of TCM (P(TCM) = 0.34 kPa) into the feedstream on the catalyst. The conversion of propane on Mg2V2O7 without oxidant in the presence and absence of TCM revealed that a contribution of lattice oxygen in the catalyst to the oxidation was strongly controlled by the addition of TCM, resulting in the enhancement of the activity with TCM.