As a promising intermediate temperature fuel cell, Direct Carbon Fuel Cell (DCFC) with composite electrolyte composed of Samarium-Doped Ceria (SDC) and a binary carbonate phase (67 mol% Li2CO3/33 mol% Na2CO3) has a much higher efficiency compared with conventional power suppliers. In the present work, SDC powder has been synthesized by an oxalate co-precipitation process and used as solid support matrix for the composite electrolyte. Single cell with composite electrolyte layer is fabricated by a dry-pressing technique using LiNiO2/Li2Na2CO3/SDC as cathode and 1:9 (weight ratio) graphite mixture with 67 mol% Li2CO3/33 mol% Na2CO3 molten carbonate as anode. The cell is tested at 600-750 degrees C using electrolytical graphite mixture as fuel and O2CO2 mixture as oxidant. A relatively good performance with high power density of 58 mW cm(-2) at 700 degrees C is achieved for a DCFC using 0.8 mm thick composite electrolyte layer. The sensibility of the 1 cm(2) DCFC single cell performance to the anode gas nature is also investigated. At temperatures higher than 700 degrees C, both carbon (C) and carbon monoxide (CO) can be considered as reacting fuel for the DCFC system. Copyright (C) 2012, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.