High density Agnanobranches (NBs) decorated with Au nanoparticles (NPs) have been fabricated through pulsed electrodeposition using porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as a template, followed by a metal sputtering process. Au NP-decorated Ag NBs show higher surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity than pure Ag NBs due to tiny Au NPs creating additional hot spots which contribute to the increased Raman enhancement. High density Ag NBs protruding from planar AAO templates function not only as an effective plasmonic material but also as an indispensable platform for loading a large amount of Au NPs with a narrow size distribution. Moreover, the long term stability of the SERS substrates significantly improved by decorating Ag NBs with Au NPs resulting in high SERS intensity even after several months of storage in air. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.