This study investigates the impact of incorporating aluminum (Al) as a promoter into a Co/MgAl 2 O 4 (MA) catalyst for the CO 2 reforming of CH 4 with C 2 H 6 . The Co/MA catalyst exhibited the highest initial conversion of CH 4 and CO 2 ; however, both values gradually declined over the time. In contrast, all Al-promoted catalysts maintained stable conversions, and the CoAl(0.50)/MA catalyst demonstrated notable catalytic stability after 50 h of reaction. The weight of the Al-promoted catalyst either remained constant or increased slightly compared with the Al-unpromoted catalyst during CH 4 -TGA, indicating superior resistance to coking. Although the exact location of the Al species could not be determined experimentally, it can be inferred that the appropriate addition of Al to the Co/MA catalyst may partially form a CoAl 2 O 4 phase, which facilitates CO 2 activation and suppresses carbon deposition. This suggests that the Al promoter kinetically controls the rate of carbon deposition and oxidation on the Co/MA catalyst. • Al-incorporated Co/MA demonstrated good catalytic stability for CO 2 reforming of CH 4 with C 2 H 6 . • CoAl(x)/MA exhibited less and slow carbon deposition than Co/MA during CH 4 -TGA. • CoAl(x)/MA enhanced CO 2 activation, as evidenced by CO 2 -TPSR. • Al modifier effectively enhanced the coking resistance for both C 2 H 4 and C 3 H 6 .