In this study, an advantageous method of methanol oxidation is developed using a nanoporous structured PtRuNi trimetallic catalyst fabricated by dealloying Ni from a high Ni-content PtRuNi alloy precursor. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are used for catalyst characterization. The nanoporous PtRuNi trimetallic catalyst shows enhanced CO oxidation, higher activity and better stability than solid commercial PtRu/C catalyst. The method developed in this study is well suited to synthesize other high performance. nanoporous-structured, multimetallic electrocatalysts for fuel cells. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.