Oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to propene was investigated over Ba-promoted Ni0.9MoO4 catalysts (molar ratio of Ba/Mo: 1%, 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, 15%). The selectivity for propene increases with the increasing number of basic sites on the catalyst, and molybdenum ions play an important role in propane activation. No significant deactivation of the 6% Ba- Ni0.9MoO4 and Ni0.9MoO4 at 773 K for 80 h and for 40 h, respectively, appeared, indicating that the 6%Ba-Ni0.9MoO4 has great advantage over the Ni0.9MoO4.