CO oxidation over Pd(100) and Pd 75 Ag 25 (100) has been investigated by a combination of near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, quadrupole mass spectrometry, density functional theory calculations and micro-kinetic modeling. For both surfaces, hysteresis is observed in the CO 2 formation during heating and cooling cycles. Whereas normal hysteresis with higher light-off temperature than extinction temperature is present for Pd(100), reversed hysteresis is observed for Pd 75 Ag 25 (100).The reversed hysteresis can be explained from dynamic changes in the surface composition. At the beginning of the heating ramp, the surface is rich in palladium which gives a CO coverage that poisons the surface until the desorption rate becomes sufficiently high. The thermodynamic preference for an Ag rich surface in the absence of adsorbates promotes diffusion of Ag from the bulk to the surface as CO desorbs.During the cooling ramp, an appreciable surface coverage is reached at temperatures too low for efficient diffusion of Ag back into the bulk. The high concentration of Ag in the surface leads to a high extinction temperature and, consequently, the reversed hysteresis.