This paper reports the facile synthesis of monodispersed nickel-doped ceria nanoparticles by a thermal decomposition method, which is used to promote catalytic properties of Pt/C. The Pt/Ni-doped CeO2/C catalyst obtained exhibits remarkably high activity and stability towards the ethanol electrooxidation in acidic media. This is attributed to higher oxygen releasing capacity and stronger interaction of Ni-doped CeO2 with Pt than pure CeO2 nanoparticles that contribute positively to the removal of poisoning intermediates. We believe that the design concept and synthetic strategy of metal doped oxides used for fuel cell catalysts can be potentially extended to other catalytic fields. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.