In this work, a simple one-pot strategy was used to synthesize an anodic electrocatalyst Pt/SnO2/GNs (EDTA) for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Under hydrothermal conditions, the reduction of H2PtCl6 and graphene oxide (GO), the oxidation of SnCl2 and the formation of SnO2 were occurred synchronously without additional reducing or oxidizing agent. The introduction of EDTA results in good dispersion and full integration of Pt and SnO2 nanoparticles, due to the complexation between Pt4+ (Sn2+) and EDTA. Electrochemical experiments show Pt/SnO2/GNs (EDTA) has much higher catalytic activity and better stability for MOR compared with the commercial Pt/C catalyst and Pt/GNs (EDTA). Furthermore, it is interesting to find that catalytic properties of Pt/SnO2/GNs (EDTA) toward MOR are significantly enhanced under external light irradiation. Especially, after UV irradiation for 30 min, Pt/SnO2/GNs (EDTA) composite shows an ultrahigh forward peak current density of 1103 mA mg(-1). The remarkably improved performances under external light irradiation mainly derives from the synergistic effects between the electro-catalytic and photo-catalytic properties, which provides a novel strategy to effectively enhance the catalytic activities of Pt catalyst in DMFCs by coupling with photoresponsive metal oxides. (C) Copyright 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.