Highly-dispersed surfactant-free bimetallic Ni-Pt nanoparticles (NPs) with a particle size as small as 2.4 nm were successfully synthesized using NaBH4 as reducing agent in the presence of NaOH, which exhibit excellent catalytic performance with very fast kinetics for selective decomposition of hydrous hydrazine to hydrogen at room temperature. NaOH plays an important role in the formation of highly-dispersed Ni-Pt nanoparticles. The present results bring light to new opportunities in the development of high-performance metal nanoparticle catalysts and encourage the effective application of hydrous hydrazine as a promising hydrogen storage material. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.