[Display omitted] • Syngas selectivity increases with the presence of a catalytic bed in the plasma zone. • Alumina based catalyst shows better stability during dry reforming of methane. • The crystalline structure of the catalyst is not affected by the plasma. • Contact with plasma makes the Ni catalyst more electronegative. A combination of a rotating gliding arc and a spouted catalytic bed was investigated in a plasma-catalytic system for dry reforming of methane (DRM). Different nickel-based catalysts, including Ni supported on Al 2 O 3 or SiO 2 (fresh and passivated) with 0, 15, and 30 wt % Ni, were investigated. It was found that a more stable operation of the plasma-catalytic system was obtained with the Al 2 O 3 -supported catalyst rather than with the SiO 2 catalyst. A noticeable increase in selectivity towards CO and H 2 was obtained with a catalytic bed in the plasma zone, reducing acetylene production, a byproduct of DRM, when carried out under plasma conditions. A maximum selectivity of CO of 96.7 % was obtained for the combination of plasma and passivated 30Ni/SiO 2. For H 2 , the maximum selectivity achieved was 84.9 % for plasma + fresh 15NiO/SiO 2. Additionally, the formation of soot and coke in the reactor was strongly reduced by the presence of a catalyst. The catalyst characterization showed that the plasma introduces defects on the Ni catalyst, making it more electronegative. However, the crystalline structure of the catalyst was not affected by contact with the plasma, suggesting that the change in the surface chemistry might affect the performance of the catalyst during the DRM reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]