Chemisorption of ethylene was studied on thin polycrystalline layers of nickel prepared by metal deposition in high vacuum and modified by preadsorbed oxygen. The volumetric method combined with the gas-phase analysis and the measurement of the electrical resistance changes of these layers were used. Already small amounts of preadsorbed oxygen of the order of 10-2 of the monolayer affect rather substantially the extent of ethylene chemisorption. The extent of the initial irreversible chemisorption and also the total adsorption of ethylene as a function of the amount of preadsorbed oxygen have a maximum at the surface oxygen concentration of 3 . 1013 molecule cm-2. The adsorption accompanied by the extensive dissociation of ethylene C-H bonds proceeds predominantly on nickel atoms with lower coordination (atoms on the microcrystal edges, corner atoms, etc.), where also oxygen chemisorption proceeds preferentially.