In this paper, a mu DMFC (micro direct methanol fuel cell) with high performance was fabricated by adopting aluminum alloys as a substrate for the first time. PEO (plasma electrolytic oxidation) was adopted to prepare an oxide coating on the substrate to make it electrically non-conductive and corrosion resistant The PEO-treated substrate shows excellent corrosion resistance in the simulated DMFC environment. Based on the substrate, a mu DMFC was fabricated by using stainless steel fiber felt as a cathode current collector that was supported by a perforate flow field on the end plate to reduce the contact resistance. The results show that the cell can provide a peak power density as high as 40.90 mW cm(-2) at room temperature of ca. 298 K. The research work presented in this paper provides another way for the design and fabrication of mu DMFC. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.