In this paper, a two-dimensional, two-phase, isothermal model is presented to investigate the water transport characteristic and water distribution in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with emphasis on exploring the water distribution in the layers of PEMFC. The governing equations have been solved over a single computational domain, which consists of all the layers. The result of polarization curve has been validated against the experimental data in an extensive range of operating conditions. A parametric study has also been performed to examine the effects of the diffusion layer (DL) permeability, contact angle, and cell output voltage on water distribution in the various layers of PEMFC. Numerical results elucidate that water distribution level in the cathode side is decreased with the increment in the cell voltage. Furthermore, the permeability of the cathode DL and contact angle significantly influence the water saturation level in the cathode side. Crown Copyright (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.