In this study, NiO-Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 (NiO-GDC) nanocomposite powders were synthesized by hydroxide co-precipitation method, and applied to improve the microstructure of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes. The NiO-GDC anodes prepared from the NiO-GDC nanocomposite powders showed uniform microstructure with uniform distribution of NiO and GDC phases. Due to the uniform phase distribution, the Ni-GDC anodes prepared from the NiO-GDC nanocomposite powders had longer triple phase boundary (TPB), which resulted in enhanced electrochemical reactions. The anode-supported SOFC fabricated from the co-precipitated NiO-GDC nanocomposite powders exhibited higher electrochemical performance than the anode-supported SOFC fabricated from the mechanically mixed NiO-GDC nanopowders. The experimental results show that the use of the Ni-GDC anodes with uniform microstructure can effectively improve the electrochemical performance of anode-supported SOFC. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.