Pt-transition metal oxides are emerging as new class of electrodes for alcohol oxidation reactions. We prepare at room temperature Pt-SnO2 nanocomposites of various surface morphologies onto carbon nanotubes for enhanced ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) by cross-beam pulsed laser deposition technique. Synthesized nanocomposites are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is observed that the interaction of SnO2 with Pt modifies the electronic structure of the latter inducing the formation of ionized Pt2+ and Pt4+ while Sn revealed mixed Sn4+ and Sn2+ cations. An optimum electrocatalytic performance toward EOR is obtained with a Pt-SnO2 grown under 0.5 Torr of He atmosphere. Versus a CNT/Pt electrode, this CNT/Pt-SnO2 electrode (i) oxidizes ethanol at much lower potentials (86 mV negative), and (ii) displays a superior specific mass activity of 1.6 times and 2.2 times by cyclic voltammetry and long-term stability, respectively. Such performance is ascribed to a combination of: (i) SnO2 has abundant hydroxyls on the surface and decrease the CO poisoning based on a bifunctional mechanism; (ii) modification of the electronic structure of Pt (electronic effect) and (iii) a semi-porous surface morphology favorable for the mass transfer of ethanol molecules. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.