The direct ethanol fuel cell has been attracting increased attention due to its safety and the wider availability of ethanol as compared with methanol. The present work investigates the anodic oxidation of ethanol on a core-shell structured Ru@PtPd/C catalyst in alkaline media. The catalyst shows high activity toward the anodic oxidation of ethanol; with 18 wt.% ruthenium as the core and 12 wt.% PtPd (Pt:Pd = 1:0.2) as the active shell, its activity in terms of PtPd loading is 1.3, 3, 1.4, and 2.0 times as high as that of PtPd/C, PtRu/C, Pd/C, and Pt/C, respectively, indicating high utilization of Pt and Pd. The ratio of forward peak current density to backward peak current density (I(f)/I(b)) reaches 1.5, which is 1.9 times that of PtPd/C catalyst, revealing high poisoning tolerance to the intermediates in ethanol electrooxidation. In addition, the stability of Ru@PtPd/C is higher than that of Pt/C and PtPd/C, as evidenced by chronoamperometric evaluations. The catalyst is extensively characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The core-shell structure of the catalyst is revealed by XRD and TEM. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.