Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) operating directly on hydrocarbon fuels have attracted much attention in recent years. A two-layer structure anode running on ethanol was fabricated by tape casting and screen printing technology in this paper, the addition of a Cu-CeO2 catalyst layer to the supported anode surface yielded much better performance in ethanol fuel. The effect that the synthesis conditions of the catalyst layer have on the performances of the composite anodes was investigated. Single cells with this anode were also fabricated, of which the maximum power density reached 566 mW cm(-2) at 800 degrees C operating on ethanol steam. Long-term performance of the anodes was presented by discharging as long as 80 h without carbon deposition. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.