Abstract: Tar deposition is one of the obstructions which limits the large scale use of biomass gasification. Catalytic reforming is the most available and efficient technology for which the investigation of a high and stable catalyst is of great significance. Great attention has been paid to the char supported metal catalysts for their simple preparation, low cost and easy recovery of active metals. In this work, based on the origin and preparation of char-supported metal catalysts, we firstly reviewed its performance for the steam reforming of tar model compound, especially for the high activity and stability of highly-dispersed metal under low temperature. Additionally, we also reviewed biomass tar reforming over the char supported metal catalyst, compared their performance with traditionally tar reforming catalysts, and summarized the relevant catalytic reaction mechanism. It can be concluded that the catalysts have good application advantages and prospects. At first, char supports are favor to disperse active metal sites, thus the prepared nano catalysts are active for tar reforming into H₂-rich syngas at mild conditions. Furthermore, energy and metal oxides can be obtained by burning spent catalysts. However, more researches are necessary to deeply reveal the mechanism for tar reforming and improve the stability of char supported metal catalysts.