Polytetrafluroethylene (PTFE) plays a key role in the performance of a Direct Methanol fuel cell. The presence of PTFE content in the backing layer and the microporous layer affects the performance of a Direct Methanol fuel cell independently. PTFE content is found to affect the catalyst utilization values and cell impedance values. A 20% PTFE content is found to be optimal in the cathode backing layer and cathode microporous layer. The performance of a Direct Methanol fuel cell is found to be more sensitive to the PTFE content in the anode microporous layer. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.