Herein, uniform core-shell Au-Pd@Pd nanocrystals (Au-Pd@Pd NCs) were prepared by a simple and eco-friendly one-step wet-chemical co-reduction method using allantoin as a structure-directing agent, without using any pre-made seed, toxic organic solvent, surfactant or polymer. Their characterizations were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The possible growth mechanism was also discussed in details. The as-fabricated architecture showed enhanced electrocatalytic ability and stability toward ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) as compared to Au nanocrystals and commercial Pd black catalysts in alkaline media. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.