In this work, the mechanism of the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) on a palladium electrode was studied using the cyclic voltammetry method. The dissociative adsorption of ethanol was found to proceed rather quickly and the rate-determining step was the removal of the adsorbed ethoxi by the adsorbed hydroxyl on the Pd electrode. The Tafel slope was found to be 130mV dec(-1) at lower potentials, which suggests that the adsorption of OH- ions follows the Temkin-type isotherm on the Pd electrode. In comparison, the Tafel slope increased gradually to 250 mV dec(-1) at higher potentials. The change in the Tafel slope indicated that, at higher potentials, the kinetics is not only affected by the adsorption of the OH- ions, but also by the formation of the inactive oxide layer on the Pd electrode. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.