Activated carbon-supported Ni catalysts for vapor phase carbonylation of ethanol to propionic acid in the presence of ethyl iodide as promoter were investigated. Under optimum reaction conditions, the conversions of carbon monoxide and ethanol were measured to be 81.4% and 98.4%, respectively, while the selectivity for propionic acid was found to be 98.65%. The catalyst was stable within 48 h on stream. XRD and XPS methods were used to characterize the structures and surface properties of the fresh and tested catalysts. The characterization results indicated that aggregation of nickel particles and formation of nickel iodide on the catalyst surface should be responsible for the deactivation of the catalysts.