Effects of titania on the catalytic property of Pd/Al2O3 towards methane combustion were examined. The results revealed that the catalytic activity of the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst was considerably improved by pre-coating the alumina support with titania at low temperature (below 700 degreesC). Hydrogen chemisorption and BET measurements revealed that the titania-modified alumina supports could modify the support characterization to achieve a high dispersion of palladium. Temperature-programmed reduction and temperature-programmed desorption study further demonstrated that the coating of Pd/Al2O3 catalysts with titania can weaken the bond strength of Pd-O and enhance their catalytic activity towards methane combustion at lower temperature. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.