Direct fuel cells (DFCs) are receiving increased interest for portable power applications. Cell and stack architecture is a vital technical issue for portable DFCs. The architecture of a DFC not only has to meet particular application requirements such as a compact size and easy handling, but also has to ensure desired performance, reliability and fabrication costs. In this paper, the most recent advances related to portable DFCs and their architecture are reviewed. The current status of system architecture, stack/unit cell architecture, flow-field designs and MEA morphology strategies along with analysis are surveyed. In addition, promising methods of passive fuel delivery are also presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.