Hollow spheres of platinum-ruthenium-palladium (PtRuPd) ternary alloy were prepared via a facile and versatile surfactant-assisted solution-chemical route. The morphology and composition of the final products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It was observed from the microscope images that the final products were composed of spherical nanostructures about 200 nm in diameter. The electrocatalytic activity of PtRuPd hollow spheres towards the oxidation of methanol has been investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results indicated that the PtRuPd ternary hollow spheres catalysts are highly active towards methanol electrocatalytic oxidation. The strong electrocatalytic activity of PtRuPd hollow spheres electrodes can be ascribed to the high surface to volume ratio and important role of Ru and Pd in the special structure of RtRuPd hollow spheres. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.