The design of high performance and durable electro-catalyst has been of particular interest for DMFC anodes. Pt(Ru) has been considered the most active DMFC anode catalyst. In this work, the reaction kinetics of Pt(Ru) electro-catalyst has been improved by synthesizing high active surface area Pt-50(Ru-50) catalyst supported on highly conductive nanostructured titanium nitride, TiN. The Pt(Ru)/TiN has been synthesized by a complexed sal-gel (CSG) process using non-halide precursors of Pt and Ru. High surface area Pt(Ru)/TiN shows promising electrochemical performance for methanol oxidation, showing similar to 52% improved catalytic activity at similar to 0.65 V (vs NHE) and stability/durability in comparison with commercial JM-Pt(Ru). Single cell DMFC performance shows 56% improved maximum power density and superior electrochemical stability for CSG-Pt(Ru)/TiN compared to that of commercial JM-Pt(Ru). This is attributed to the uniform dispersion of Pt(Ru) achieved on the nanostructured TiN (support) yielding higher electrochemical active surface area and lower charge transfer resistance than commercial JM-Pt(Ru). Thus, the present study demonstrates the potential of nanostructured TiN as a support for Pt(Ru) based anode electro-catalyst for DMFC applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.