The aim of this work was the development and performance evaluation of alumina supported nickel catalysts for partial oxidation of methane to syngas in a self-sustained short contact time fixed bed reactor using pure oxygen or air. It was also verified the attainment of relative constant temperatures in an appropriate range (750-1050 degrees C) along the catalytic fixed bed independently of the operative weight hourly space velocity (WHSV); thus sintering and coking problems and the consequent performance decay were avoided. The activity tests with a Ni load of 5% and 10% by weight were carried out increasing the WHSV from 150 to 1440 Nl h(-1) g(cat)(-1). The results obtained with 10% Ni/Al(2)O(3) catalyst when working with pure O(2) showed an excellent performance towards CH(4) conversion (>90%) and H(2) selectivity (>95%), comparable to the best rhodium based catalysts tested at the same operating condition [ 29]. When working with air, 10% Ni/Al(2)O(3) was able to maintain the reactor thermally self-sustained using air rather than pure oxygen until WHSV of 1440 Nl h(-1) g(cat)(-1) (GHSV approximate to 750,000 h(-1)) and gave a performance similar to that with pure O(2) (but producing a syngas diluted by N(2)) till a WHSV value of about 600 Nl h(-1) g(cat)(-1). (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.