Effects of templating on the catalytic performance of SAPO-34 catalyst have been investigated in conversion of methanol to olefins (MTO). SAPO-34 catalysts were synthesized using a single agent or a mixture of morpholine or tetraethyl ammonium hydroxide of (TEAOH) as the template during synthesis of gel with nominal composition as 1Al(2)O(3): 1P(2)O(5):0.6SiO(2):x morpholine:(2 - x)TEAOH:52H(2)O. Compared with using single template, using a mixed template leads to the particle size reduction and the morphology change to spherical type formed by the aggregation of nano-sized crystals. Although all the catalysts showed similar activity and product distribution in the MTO reaction, the catalyst obtained using the mixture of 75% morpholine and 25% TEAOH gave the longest lifetime. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.