A solid solution of IrO2, SnO2 and NbO2, denoted as (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2, of compositions (Ir1-2xSnxNbx)O-2 with x = 0, 0.125, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, 0.425 and 0.50 has been synthesized by thermal decomposition of a homogeneous mixture of IrCl4, SnCl2 center dot 2H(2)O and NbCl5 ethanol solution coated on pretreated Ti foil. The (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2 thin film of different compositions coated on Ti foil has been studied as a promising oxygen reduction anode electrocatalyst for PEM based water electrolysis. It has been identified that (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2 of composition up to x = 0.30 [(Ir0.40Sn0.30Nb0.30)O-2] shows similar electrochemical activity compared to pure IrO2 (x = 0) resulting in similar to 60 mol.% reduction in noble metal content. On the other hand, (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2 of composition x = 0.20 [(Ir0.20Sn0.40Nb0.40)O-2] shows only 20% lower activity compared to pure IrO2 though the noble metal oxide, IrO2 loading is reduced by 80 mol.%. The accelerated life test of the anode electrocatalyst for 48 h followed by elemental analysis of the electrolyte shows that (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2 improves the stability of the electrode in comparison to pure IrO2 electrocatalyst in oxygen reduction processes. The excellent electrochemical activity as well as long term structural stability of (Ir,Sn,Nb)O-2 during water electrolysis has been discussed using first-principles calculations of the total energies, electronic structures, and cohesive energies of the model systems. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.