Carbon supported Au-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles are prepared by a modified NaBH(4) reduction method in aqueous solution at room temperature. The electrocatalytic activities of the Au-Cu/C catalysts are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry and fuel cell experiments. It has been found that the Au-Cu/C catalysts have much higher catalytic activity for the direct oxidation of BH(4)(-) than Au/C catalyst. Especially, the Au(67)Cu(33)/C catalyst presents the highest catalytic activity for BH(4)(-) electrooxidation among all as-prepared catalysts, and the DBHFC using Au(67)Cu(33)/C anode catalyst and Au/C cathode catalyst shows the maximum power density of 51.8 mW cm(-2) at 69.5 mA cm(-2) and 20 degrees C. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.