Novel pore-filled polyelectrolyte membrane (PEM) was produced using track etched polycarbonate (PC) as porous substrate and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as pore filling material. PVA in PC pores was stabilized through cross-linking of PVA matrix with glutaraldehyde (GA). Cross-link time was varied from 24 h to 96 h while keeping the membranes in GA solution. Pore sizes of substrate PC membrane tested were 0.01, 0.1 and 0.2 nm. The membranes were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Ionic conductivity, water uptake, contact angle and gel content have been measured to determine membranes performance. The ionic crossover (iron ions and protons) through membranes was studied in a complete fuel cell. The single-cell performance of membrane was tested in a cathodic microbial fuel cell (MFC, Biogenerator). The physiochemical properties and membranes fuel cell performance were highly depended on the cross-link density of PVA matrices. Membranes cross-liked with GA for 72 h showed maximum gel content and their peak power density has reached 110 mW cm(-2) at current density of 378 mA cm(-2). Among all, membrane cross-linked for 72 h was studied for continuous long-term stability, which showed consistency for application in MFC. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.