Mechanisms of N2 dissociative adsorption on small ruthenium clusters are studied by density functional calculations. The calculations indicate that the step of a ruthenium cluster has high activity for N2 activation, where an ensemble of five Ru atoms on the stepped surface of clusters is responsible for the active site. Such high activity arises from a strong charge-transfer interaction due to local phase adaptation between the p* orbital of N2 and the filled cluster valence orbital over the step region. Results from cluster models with different size show that the activation mechanism and the barrier are sensitive to the structural environment of the step. N2 dissociation over the step of the 11-atom cluster is a two-step process, where the rate-determining step has a barrier of 22 kcal mol21. N2 dissociative adsorption on the stepped surface of 15-atom and 21-atom clusters is a one-step process, and the barrier is～7-10 kcal mol21. Theoretical calculations on the 11-atom Os and Fe cluster models reveal a general activity of the stepped sites for N2 activation.