• A CeO 2 -P carrier rich in oxygen vacancies was synthesized for Ni-based catalyst. • High low-temperature CO 2 methanation activity and excellent stability were achieved. • The role of oxygen vacancies in enhancing CO 2 methanation performance was revealed. Developing efficient catalysts with superior low-temperature catalytic performance is highly promising yet challenging for CO 2 methanation. Here we synthesized a nanoplate-shaped CeO 2 , which was rich in oxygen vacancies, as the carrier to disperse the nickel nanoparticles. The resultant catalyst (Ni/CeO 2 -P) showed remarkable low-temperature CO 2 methanation performance with a CO 2 conversion of high than 84% and 100% CH 4 selectivity at a low temperature of 300 °C. A 100 h-on-stream test at 300 °C demonstrated the excellent stability of Ni/CeO 2 -P. Even when the WHSV rose as high as 30000 mL g −1 h −1 , the Ni/CeO 2 -P catalyst still possessed a maximum CO 2 conversion of approximately 79%. The surface characterization demonstrated that the abundant oxygen vacancies on the CeO 2 nanoplates led to more amounts of NiO-CeO 2 structures formed, which resulted in a stronger interaction between Ni metal and CeO 2 support. This stronger NiO-CeO 2 interaction was proved extraordinary in promoting the reaction performance as compared with metallic Ni. Also, by the in-situ DRIFTS technology, the reaction intermediates and possible reaction pathway were raised for CO 2 methanation.