Carbon-supported PdSn-SnO2 with high electrical catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution was synthesized using an impregnation reduction method. XRD analysis of the as-prepared PdSn-SnO2/C revealed that the Pd diffraction peaks shifted to lower 20 values with respect to the corresponding peaks of the Pd/C catalyst, indicating that Sn doping could shrink the Pd crystalline lattice. XPS measurements confirmed the existence of Sn and SnO2 in the PdSn-SnO2/C catalysts. The prepared PdSn-SnO2/C catalysts presented a remarkably higher electrocatalytic activity than that of the Pd-Sn/C and Pd/C catalysts. This was mainly because the easy adsorption-dissociation of OHads over the SnO2 surface changed the electronic effect and accelerated the adsorption of ethanol on the surface of Pd, thus enhancing the overall ethanol oxidation kinetics and contributing to a significant improvement in the catalytic activity. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.