The effects of the parameters of the anode gas diffusion layer (GDL), including the PTFE content in the backing layer (BL), the PTFE content in the microporous layer (MPL), and the carbon black loading on the performance of a liquid-feed direct dimethyl ether fuel cell (DDFC), were experimentally investigated. The results indicated that increase in the PTFE content can produce more cracks across the whole surface of the MPL. These cracks were benefit to the anode two-phase mass transport. The optimal PTFE content in anode BL and MPL was 18 and 40?wt%, respectively. The performances of the DDFCs tended to decline with the increase in the carbon black loading in the anode GDLs due to the difficult long path of mass transport. The maximum power density was obtained with 18?wt% PTFE in BL and 0?mg?cm-2 carbon black loading, the optimal result, was 76.6?mW?cm-2 at ambient pressure. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.