In this report, a simple and facile solvothermal method is developed for fabrication of platinum ruthenium (PtRu) nanodendrites supported on reduced graphene oxide (PtRu-RGO) in the ethylene glycol (EG) system, using hexadecylpyridinium chloride (HDPC) as a shape-directing agent. The as-prepared nanocomposites show the superior catalytic activity and better stability towards EG oxidation, compared with RGO-supported Pt nanoparticles and commercial PtRu/C (Pt 30 wt. %, Ru 15 wt. %) catalysts. This strategy may open a new route to design and prepare advanced electrocatalysts in direct EG fuel cells. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.