The Pt3Tex/C nanocatalyst was prepared and its catalytic performance for ethanol oxidation was investigated for the first time. The Pt3Te/C nanoparticles were characterized by an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy equipped with TEM (TEM-EDX). The Pt3Te/C catalyst has a typical fcc structure of platinum alloys with the presence of Te. Its particle size is about 2.8 nm. Among the synthesized catalysts with different atomic ratios, the Pt3Te/C catalyst has the highest anodic peak current density. The cyclic voltammograms (CV) show that the anodic peak current density for the Pt3Te/C, commercial PtRu/C and Pt/C catalysts reaches 1002, 832 and 533 A g(-1), respectively. On the current-time curve, the anodic current on the Pt3Te/C catalyst was higher than those for the catalysts reported. So, these findings show that the Pt3Te/C catalyst has uniform nanoparticles and the best activity among the synthesized catalysts, and it is better than commercial PtRu/C and Pt/C catalysts for ethanol oxidation at room temperature. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.