The catalytic performances and the kinetics model of the cobalt-based Fischer-Tropsch (FT) catalyst were investigated on Ru/Co/Zr/SiO2 with different amounts of phosphorous. The preliminary analysis of the CO conversion, the hydrocarbon selectivity and the activation energy revealed that the 0.5 wt.% phosphorous-treated Ru/Co/Zr/SiO2 catalyst was found to have the highest catalytic activity because of the good dispersion of the cobalt species and the suppressed aggregation during the FT reaction. Kinetics model was concomitantly developed on the selected catalyst. The model that was reported in the literature was modified in order to explain the characteristics that were observed in the experimental studies, and the kinetic parameters were estimated to fit the experimental data under various reaction conditions. The simulation results along with the estimated kinetic parameters satisfactorily predicted the effects of the operating conditions on both the CO conversion and the entire hydrocarbon distribution. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.