MoSi2 is introduced into dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) as counter electrode (CE) catalyst for the first time, and the DSC produces power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.87%. To improve the catalytic activity, Pt/MoSi2 composite catalyst is synthesized and it is found that 1.13 wt% of Pt loading is enough for achieving high catalytic activity. After optimization, the DSC using the Pt/MoSi2 composite CE shows high PCE of 7.68%, close to the Pt CE based DSC (7.94%). (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.