The short communication presents an improved fractal model to predict through-plane liquid water permeability of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The porous structure of a GDL is modeled as a combination of parallel and perpendicular channels to the fluid flow direction. The through-plane permeability equation is derived by a hybrid of fractal longitudinal permeability and transverse permeability in parallel with the former. This model is validated by comparing with the referenced data. It is found that the proposed fractal model is preferred for throughplane permeability predictions of GDL (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.