Effect of nickel on the catalytic performances of LaCoO 3 for CO oxidation is investigated, by partial substitution of Co with Ni atoms in the framework or by deposition of NiO on the surface of LaCoO 3. Results show that the activity decreases in order of 10%Ni/LaCoO 3 > LaCoO 3 > LaCo 0.8 Ni 0.2 O 3 , with the CO ignition temperature of 60, 110 and 140 °C, respectively (reaction conditions: 0.5% CO/Ar and 7.5 % O 2 /Ar, balanced with Ar; space velocity of 30000 mL g-1 h-1). Based on the characterizations such as XPS, H 2-TPR, O 2-TPD and CV measurements, we inferred that the high activity of 10%Ni/LaCoO 3 is attributed to a synergistic effect induced by NiO and LaCoO 3 , and the low activity of LaCo 0.8 Ni 0.2 O 3 is to the enrichment of La atoms on the surface, caused by the Ni incorporation. Long-time stability test indicates that 10%Ni/LaCoO 3 is stable in the reaction, with no appreciable loss of activity within 32 h. The highly active and stable activity of 10%Ni/LaCoO 3 suggests that impregnation of metal oxides on the surface of perovskite can be a feasible strategy for the preparation of industrial catalyst for CO oxidation.