Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of nitric oxide with propane in excess oxygen was investigated on Ni-ZrO2 (NZ) and sulfated Ni-ZrO2 (SNZ), prepared by coprecipitation from a mixture of nickel nitrate-zirconium oxychloride followed by modifying with (NH4)2SO4. It was found that sulfated Ni-ZrO2catalyst showed higher activity for the SCR of NO with propane than that of Ni-ZrO2. The structural and surface properties of catalysts were studied by XRD, BET, SEM and FT-IR of pyridine adsorption. The experimental results indicated that the modification of (NH4)2SO4 resulted in the generation of strong Bronsted and Lewis acid sites and promoted the dispersion of the Ni species, which could lead to higher NO conversion and propane efficiency in NO reduction.