In this paper, bis (dibenzylidene acetone) palladium (0), Pd (DBA)(2), was used as an effective catalyst for the electrooxidation of different aliphatic alcohols such as ethylene glycol (EG), ethanol (EtOH), glycerol (Gly), methanol (MeOH)) in the alkaline media. The activity and stability of Pd (DBA)(2) were assessed for the electrooxidation of the mentioned alcohols using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and chronoamperometry (CA). Pd (DBA)(2) exhibited significantly high anodic current density and lower onset potential in EtOH oxidation compared to EG, Gly and MeOH. CV and CA results demonstrated that Pd (DBA)(2) is still active even after 200 CV cycles. The tolerance of Pd (DBA)2 against poisoning intermediate products in case EtOH was higher than other mentioned alcohols. Finally, Pd (DBA)(2) successfully employed as an anode catalyst in a passive air breathing direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC). The maximum power density (MPD) of 30, 31, 25 and 18 mW cm(-2) were achieved for EG, EtOH, Gly and MeOH, respectively. These results indicated that Pd (DBA)(2) can be a promising anode catalyst for DAFCs. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.