Glycerol has a very high value of onset potential on the Au/C electrode, so it is difficult to be electrochemically oxidized on the pure Au electrocatalyst. When Co3O4, NiO, Mn3O4 and MgO are added to the Au/C, the values of onset potential of glycerol oxidation shift negatively 171, 191, 156 and 215 mV than that on the Au/C. Au-Co3O4(wt 4:1)/C, Au-NiO(wt 5:1)/C, Au-Mn3O4(wt 5:1)/C and Au-MgO(wt 2:1)/C show the highest activity for glycerol electrooxidation for respective oxide promoted Au/C. The addition of oxides to the Au/C obviously promotes the catalytic activity and stability for glycerol electrooxidation. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.