A solid acid catalyst, NiSO4/CeO2-ZrO2 was prepared simply by promoting ZrO2 with CeO2 and supporting nickel sulfate on CeO2-ZrO2. The support of NiSO4 on ZrO2 shifted the phase transition of ZrO2 from amorphous to tetragonal to higher temperatures because of the interaction between NiSO4 and ZrO2. The surface area of 10-NiSO4/1-CeO2-ZrO2 promoted with CeO2 and calcined at 600 oC was very high (83 m2/g) compared to that of unpromoted 10-NiSO4/ZrO2 (45 m2/g). This high surface area of 10-NiSO4/1-CeO2-ZrO2 was due to the promoting effect of CeO2 which makes zirconia a stable tetragonal phase as confirmed by XRD. The role of CeO2 was to form a thermally stable solid solution with zirconia and consequently to give high surface area and acidity of the sample, and high thermal stability of the surface sulfate species. 10-NiSO4/1- CeO2-ZrO2 containing 1 mol% CeO2 and 10 wt% NiSO4, and calcined at 600 oC exhibited maximum catalytic activities for both reactions, 2-propanol dehydration and cumene dealkylation.