In this paper, a facile one-pot method was employed to synthesize CoNi2S4 and CuCo2S4 with various morphologies. The required overpotentials for CoNi2S4 nanorod and CuCo2S4 cluster are only 111 mV and 135 mV, respectively, to reach the current density of 10 mA/cm(2). The Tafel slopes for CoNi2S4 nanorod (53 mV/dec) and CuCo2S4 cluster (63 mV/dec) are lower than that for binary systems of CoS2 and NiS2. The CoNi2S4 nanorod shows better long-term durability than CuCo2S4 cluster during the galvanostatic electrolysis. Overall these ternary sulfides exhibit promising activity and fair stability for hydrogen evolution reaction. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.