A core-shell structured low-Pt catalyst, PdPt@Pt/C, with high performance towards both methanol anodic oxidation and oxygen cathodic reduction, as well as in a single hydrogen/air fuel cell, is prepared by a novel two-step colloidal approach. For the anodic oxidation of methanol, the catalyst shows three times higher activity than commercial Tanaka 50 wt% Pt/C catalyst; furthermore, the ratio of forward current I-f to backward current I-b is high up to 1.04, whereas for general platinum catalysts the ratio is only ca. 0.70, indicating that this PdPt@Pt/C catalyst has high activity towards methanol anodic oxidation and good tolerance to the intermediates of methanol oxidation. The catalyst is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The core-shell structure of the catalyst is revealed by XRD and TEM, and is also supported by underpotential deposition of hydrogen (UPDH). The high performance of the PdPt@Pt/C catalyst may make it a promising and competitive low-Pt catalyst for hydrogen fueled polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) or direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) applications. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.