One of the most important challenges for the ultimate commercialization of fuel cells is the preparation of active, robust, and low-cost catalysts.This report highlights novel nanocatalysts of Fecore-Pdshell nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon (donated as Fe@Pd/C) for formic acid eletrooxidation.The Fe@Pd/C nanocatalysts were prepared by using a sequential reduction process, and characterized by an array of analytical techniques, including transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometric measurements demonstrated that Fe@Pd/C catalysts exhibited distinctly higher activity and better stability in formic acid electrooxidation than Pd/C and commercial Pt/C nanocatalysts.The enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability are attributed to the interaction between Fe core and Pd shell, in which the core element could promote surface oxidation (shell element) leading to easier removal of CO intermediates on shell.The enhanced activity/stability of the Fe@Pd/C nanocatalysts improves the performance of Fe-based as less expensive electrocatalysts for the direct formic acid fuel cells.