Proton exchange membrane (PEM) Fuel cells are widely used because of its environmental protection and high efficiency. In the present study, a novel fin-like structure of the electrode surface is investigated by establishing the theoretical model and numerical simulating. For this purpose, the influence of different fin spacing and pressure boost on the performance of the PEM fuel cell is analyzed by numerical simulation. Results show that increasing pressure of cathode or both side experiences greater performance improvement compared to the other cases, and the maximum values of power density during both conditions is founding for fin density 1/1, followed by fin density 1/12, then last the basic model. Furthermore, the analysis shows that increasing CL surface area combined with cathode pressurization is the best strategy for fuel cell performance optimization. The fin structure under the condition of cathode pressurization can effectively reduce the transmission resistance and over potential of the fuel cell by theoretical calculation, which is coinciding well with the simulation results. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.