One promising preparative method that offers the potential for improved platinum (Pt) dispersion of electrocatalysts is electroless deposition (ED). In this study, the effects of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) pretreatment and synthesis procedure on properties of the four catalysts, synthesized by ED method, have been considered. The results of energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray dot-mapping, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analyses showed that using palladium (Pd) precursor during two-step sensitization-activation coating procedure gives uniform Pt particles distribution on MWCNTs with low aggregation and high specific surface area (similar to 80 m(2) g(-1)). In addition, to investigate the performance of the synthesized catalysts in experimental fuel cell system, thin-film method was used to fabricate the membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Obtaining the polarization curves for the fabricated MEAs (Pt loading similar to 0.4 mg cm(-2)) and a commercial MEA (ElectroChem, Pt loading similar to 1 mg cm(-2)) demonstrated that the catalyst prepared by two-step sensitization-activation coating procedure possesses a good performance despite of its lower Pt content. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.