A polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based alkaline membrane was developed in the laboratory for use in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). This study investigates the performance of the alkaline PVA membrane, crosslinked by a physical crosslinking method. The membrane was characterized using water uptake, KOH uptake, ion exchange capacity, and ionic conductivity methods. The anode and cathode electrocatalysts were Pt-Ru (30:15% by wt)/carbon black (C) and Pt (40% by wt)/high surface area carbon (C-HSA), respectively. A similar electrocatalyst loading in the order of 1mg/cm(2) was used at the anode and cathode. The cell voltage and current density data were recorded for different concentrations of fuel (methanol) and electrolyte (KOH). The optimum conditions for the fuel cell were 2M methanol mixed in 3M KOH solution at a flow rate of 2mL/min with a cathode feed of humidified oxygen at a flow rate of 100mL/min. The DMFC was operated at 30 degrees C, irrespective of other operating conditions. The maximum open circuit voltage of 0.6V, current density of 7.71mA/cm(2) at a cell voltage of 0.23V, and maximum power density of 1.79mW/cm(2) were obtained at the optimum cell condition. The KOH-doped PVA solid electrolyte was successfully tested in a direct methanol fuel cell, which results in excellent power density. Single cell test results prove that the physically crosslinked KOH-doped PVA electrolyte could be used as a suitable solid electrolyte in a fuel cell.