Ni incorporated catalysts with different ratios of Ce/Zr were prepared via a one-pot surfactant assisted Pechini method, and dry reforming of methane was used to evaluate their performances. The prepared catalysts were characterized by nitrogen adsorption-desorption, XRD, SEM, TEM and TGA. The nitrogen physisorption analysis witnessed the distinctive mesoporosity of NiCeZrO. The TEM observation confirmed a homogeneous dispersion of NiO nanoparticles within the mesopores, and the XRD presented a high crystallinity of NiCeZrO within relatively smaller particle size. After 6 h dry reforming of methane in a fixed-bed reactor, the minimal carbon deposition was detected on the used NiCeZrO among the NiCeZrO (x = 0.1, 0.5, 0.9) catalysts, and XRD result also indicates nano-sized NiO particle on the fresh catalyst will be of great benefit to the resistance of carbon formation. The mesoporous structure of NiCeZrO was achieved at Ce/Zr = 1:1 and NiO particles incorporated in the pore were also clearly observed based on the characterization results. The catalytic evaluation experiments prove its remarkable initial activity (CH 94.0 & CO 97.2 %), minimal carbon formation, and outstanding catalytic performance at different WHSVs. Graphical Abstract: A series of NiCeZrO catalysts were prepared and the optimal synthesis ratio of Ce/Zr is 1:1 based on the characterization results. NiCeZrO presents a few features such as mesoporous structure, highly dispersed NiO, large surface area, and small crystallized sizes. DRM reaction experiments also prove NiCeZrO has remarkable catalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]