The effect of preparation method on the catalytic performance of V-promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts for synthetic natural gas (SNG) production via CO methanation has been investigated. The Ni-V/Al2O3 catalysts were prepared by co-impregnation (CI) method, deposition precipitation (DP) method as well as two sequential impregnation (SI) methods with different impregnation sequence. Among the prepared catalysts, the one prepared by CI method exhibited the best catalytic performance due to its largest H2 uptake and highest metallic Ni dispersion. In a 91h-lifetime test, this catalyst showed high stability at high temperature and weight hourly space velocity. This work demonstrates that the catalytic performance of the V-promoted Ni/Al2O3 catalysts can be improved by carefully controlling the preparation method/conditions.