In this paper, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with novel structure is designed and fabricated for a micro direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), which used stainless steel fiber felt (SSFF) to replace the current collector and the backing layer at cathode. Result data shows that the novel structure can reduce the methanol crossover dramatically, as a result, achieves a better performance with a higher methanol concentration, a higher fuel utilization ratio and energy efficiency. In addition, the novel MEA also presents an improved water management at room temperature, allowing it to achieve a better performance. To elaborate the effect of the novel structure on anode or cathode electrode process, a reference electrode is built inside the single cell. The electrochemical results of half-cell test show that the novel MEA has a greatly reduced cathode polarization and a slightly increased anode polarization. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.