Two types of CeO2-modified Ni/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by a consecutive impregnation method with different sequences in the impregnation of Ni and CeO2, and their performance in autothermal reforming (ATR) of isooctane was investigated. Catalysts prepared by adding CeO2 prior to the addition of Ni, Ni/CeO2-Al2O3, produced larger amounts of hydrogen than those obtained using catalysts prepared by adding the two components in an opposite sequence, Ni-CeO2/Al2O3. The results of H2 chemisorption and temperature-programmed reduction revealed that added CeO2 increased the dispersion of the Ni species on Al2O3 and suppressed the formation of NiAl2O4 in the catalyst such that large amounts of Ni species were present as NiO, the active species for the ATR. The elemental and thermogravimetric analyses of deactivated catalysts indicated that Ni/CeO2-Al2O3, which showed a longer lifetime than Ni-CeO2/Al2O3, contained lesser amounts and different types of coke on the surface.