Pure and Pd-doped alpha-Fe2O3 porous nanotubes (PNTs) are synthesized by a facile electrospinning approach. Different Pd dopant concentrations are introduced to investigate the dopant's role in sensing performance. The structures and chemical compositions of the as-prepared products are examined using a series of characterization methods including XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM, XPS and BET. The gas-sensing properties of the sensor based on above PNTs are studied. And the results reveal that, compared with pure alpha-Fe2O3 , the 3.0 wt% Pd-doped alpha-Fe2O3 PNTs sensors exhibit superior performance in ethanol detection (at 240 degrees C). The highest sensitivity reaches 65.4 for 50 ppm ethanol and the detection limit is as low as 0.1 ppm. In addition, the sensors also show excellent selectivity, good long-term stability and as well as rapid response/recovery time (8 s/30 s, respectively) to ethanol. The improvement of sensing performance is mainly attributed to the dramatic sensitization of the additional Pd components.