A nanocrystalline Pt/CeO 2 composite electrode is fabricated to study the electrochemical oxidation of methanol and ethanol. Three different methods have been developed for the preparation of the composite electrode and are compared in terms of their oxidation efficiencies. In general, all the electrode preparation methodologies show a great enhancement of the oxidation current for the alcohol. However, methods based on the electrodeposition of a ceria rich Pt matrix show the greatest effectiveness of alcohol oxidation. The enhancement of the anodic current is dependent on the particle loading and size distribution in the composite matrix. In general, ceria appears to be an effective alternative to ruthenium in direct alcohol fuel cells.