This work focuses on the performance of a catalytic micro-combustor to be used as a heat source for a direct methanol fuel cell. This combustor uses Pt/Al2O3/Ni to provide catalysis for methanol combustion. It is proved that the use of a higher catalyst loading mostly promotes a higher methanol conversion rate. The catalyst distribution has a dominant effect on the reaction performance. Results also verify the necessity of optimizing the amount of Al2O3 loading. Three models based on different structural design and operating mechanism are evaluated. It is shown that adding a preheating layer helps gain a uniform temperature distribution in the combustion chamber. Compared with methanol injection, the bubbling method for methanol supply promotes a faster start-up of the combustion reaction. Besides, the feasibility of using a heat recirculation layer to realize self-combustion at room temperature is also validated. All these issues are of practical significance to the combination of combustor and fuel cell. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.