CO2 reforming of methane (CRM) is becoming a hot research area because of its capability to utilize greenhouse gases to reduce global warming. However, the CRM has not yet been commercialized due to several challenges including the weak prospect of catalyst. The impact of strontium on the performance of a monometallic Ni-MgO/ZrO2 catalyst was examined in this study. Mixed oxide MgO-ZrO2 support was prepared by coprecipitation method followed by wetness impregnation of Ni and Sr metals. N2-physisorption analysis and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed to evaluate the fresh catalysts in order to investigate their physicochemical properties. The Ni-Sr/MgO-ZrO2 catalyst provided the optimum catalytic performance for the CRM reaction carried out in a tabular fixed bed reactor at 800 °C with a CH4 CO2 ratio of 1:1. Due to the formation of amorphous carbon nanosheets that covered the active sites of the monometallic Ni/MgO-ZrO2 catalyst, its activity decreased, whereas the Ni-Sr/MgO-ZrO2 catalyst's activity was maintained due to filamentous carbon formation. © 2022 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.