Highly mesoporous carbon was synthesized employing conventional sol-gel technique using resorcinol and formaldehyde. The porous carbon electrodes were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, N-2, adsorption isotherm, atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Platinum was anchored on support by the incipient wetness method and reduced to its metallic form using sodium formate as a reducing agent. The electrocatalysis for methanol oxidation on carbon supported Pt in acid and alkaline solutions were investigated. It was found that the activity of Pt for methanol oxidation was higher in alkaline than in acid medium. High mesopore surface area of carbon can significantly increase the metal dispersion and affect particle size, which favoured the progress of the electrochemical processes occurring during methanol oxidation. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.