The electrocatalytic behaviour of tellurium modified Pt(100) electrodes for formic acid oxidation was investigated. For the direct oxidation of formic acid, enhancement of catalysis is observed, yielding the maximum formic acid oxidation current for a tellurium coverage of 0.38. In poison formation experiments, the tellurium adsorbed on the surface inhibits poison formation and accumulation on the surface by a third body mechanism. It was also found that the catalysis enhancement of formic acid oxidation was due primarily to the inhibition of poison formation. A comparison is made with selenium modified Pt(100) electrodes and other Pt(100) modified electrodes previously studied.