Carbon-supported PtSn, PtPd, and PtRuPd catalysts are prepared by chemical reduction with hydrothermal treatment, and their electrochemical properties for methyl formate electrooxidation are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and CO stripping voltammetry in comparison with commercial Pt/C and PtRu/C catalysts. At low potentials below 0.4 V, the dominant reaction is the oxidation of formic acid produced by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of methyl formate, and PtPd/C exhibits the highest activity. At higher potentials, methanol joins the oxidation process of methyl formate and PtRu/C, PtSn/C, and PtRuPd/C show the high activity. In single cell, direct methyl formate fuel cell operation, PtRuPd/C containing both active component for formic acid oxidation (Pd) and CO-tolerant component (Ru) shows the highest performance for electrooxidation of methyl formate. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.