The performance of macrocyclic catalysts in oxygen reduction was investigated for a direct methanol fuel cell. The dependence of catalytic activity on different factors was determined for two classes of precursors; namely, iron porphyrin (Fe-PC) and iron phthalocyanine (Fe-TPP). It was found that there was an optimal heat-treating temperature for each precursor. Heat-treated Fe-TPP shows maximum activity at 750 A degrees C, while the highest performance in the case of Fe-PC is observed at 500 A degrees C. It was shown that oxygen reduction activity is affected by the number of nitrogen bonds formed with iron, particle size, and formation of carbon layers.