The carbon supported PtRu nanocatalyst is modified by two kinds of tungsten compounds, i.e., tungsten oxide (WOx) and phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40, PW12), respectively, and the catalytic performances of the modified catalysts for methanol oxidation are evaluated. The results show that tungsten oxide and phosphotungstic acid exhibit different promoting effects on the catalytic performance of the PtRu nanocatalyst for methanol oxidation. The WOx-modified PtRu nanocatalyst has a considerably high catalytic activity, which is attributed to the uniform distribution of PtRu nanoparticles on the carbon support and the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between the hypo-d-tungsten and the hyper-d-platinum. The PW12-modified PtRu nanocatalyst has a good poison resistance, which is ascribed to the protective effect of the self-assembled PW12 layer on the catalyst surface. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.