The electrooxidation of methanol on ruthenium oxide layer supported by basal plane graphite (BPG) in acid media was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A simple electrodeposition method of ruthenium oxide layer on BPG electrode was established in this study. Ruthenium oxide layer, which was prepared by a simple electrodeposition method in acidic ruthenium chloride solution, stable in the potential range between -0.3 and 0.9 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) but stripped at high potential range between 1.0 and 1.7 V. According to XPS analysis, the layer presented more than two different peaks, which showed the oxidation states of ruthenium between Ru (2+) and Ru (4+). A peak current of 260 (-)A at 1.0 V was observed for the electrooxidation of methanol on ruthenium oxide layer. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy.