Direct ethanol fuel cells are a key enabling technology for clean energy conversion; however, a major challenge is the determination of anode catalytic materials with high performance for complete ethanol oxidation. In this study, we synthesized binary Pt-0.50-(CeO2)(0.50)/C and Pt-0.50-(RuO (y) )(0.50)/C, as well as ternary Pt (x) -(RuO (y) -CeO2)(1-x) catalysts (x = 0.25, 0.50, or 0.75) and (y = 0, +2, or +3) by the sol-gel method and compared them in the ethanol oxidation reaction. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed the small particle size of the prepared catalysts (2.1-2.5 nm). Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, derivative voltammetry, and potentiostatic polarization were employed to analyze the ethanol oxidation reaction on binary Pt-0.50-(CeO2)(0.50)/C and Pt-0.50-(RuO (y) )(0.50)/C and ternary Pt (x) -(RuO (y) -CeO2)(1-x) catalysts, as well as Pt/C and Pt-Ru/C commercial catalysts, including some insights estimating a possible reaction mechanism. The results demonstrate, considering the activity outcomes approach, the highly superior performance of the Pt-0.25-(RuO (y) -CeO2)(0.75)/C catalyst.