A metallic Ni catalyst was prepared with nickel sponge,followed by acid treatment.It was further promoted with yttria by an impregnation method.The catalysts were characterized by SEM,BET,XRD,TPR,XPS,etc.,and studied in the partial oxidation of methane to syngas.The characterization results showed that the yttria promoted metallic Ni catalysts had high specific surface area and more NiO.The reaction results showed that the yttria promoter increased the CH_4 conversion and the selectivity for H_2 and CO. A metallic Ni catalyst was prepared with nickel sponge, followed by acid treatment. It was further promoted with yttria by an impregnation method. The catalysts were characterized by SEM, BET, XRD, TPR, XPS, etc., and studied in the partial oxidation of methane to syngas. The characterization results showed that yttria promoted metallic Ni catalysts had high specific surface area and more NiO. The reaction results showed that the yttria promoter increased the CH_4 conversion and the selectivity for H_2 and CO.