Three series of Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts prepared by combination of the strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) and electroless deposition (ED) methods have been prepared and characterized. SEA was used for preparation of highly dispersed base (or core) Pt nanoparticles followed by ED of Ru at controlled and variable amounts of Ru on the Pt surface. The catalysts were then evaluated for the oxidation of methanol. For the Ru-Pt bimetallic catalysts, activity passed through a maximum at approximately 50% (calculated) monodisperse Ru surface coverage for all of the Pt metal loadings. The activity of Ru-Pt/XC72 catalysts prepared by SEA and ED for methanol oxidation was four times higher than pure Pt and two times higher than a commercial catalyst with a 1:1 = Pt : Ru bulk atomic ratio.