On the basis of hydrodynamic and scaling-up studies, a pilot-plant-scale thermal spouted bed reactor (50 mm in ID and 1500 mm in height) was designed and fabricated by scaling-down cold simulators. It was tested for making syngas via catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of methane by air. The effects of various operating conditions such as operating pressure and temperature, feed composition, and gas fiowrate etc. on the CPO process were investigated. CH4 conversion of 92.2% and selectivity of 92.3% and 83.3% to CO and H2, respectively, were achieved at the pressure of 2.1 MPa. It was found that when the spouted bed reactor was operated within the stable spouting flow regime, the temperature profiles along the bed axis were much more uniform than those operated within the fixed-bed regime. The CH4 conversion and syngas selectivity were found to be close to thermodynamic equilibrium limits. The results of the present investigation showed that spouted bed could be considered as a potential type of chemical reactor for the CPO process of methane.