A methanol oxidation catalyst comprises a material of composition:PtxMzTau in which Pt is platinum, Ta is tantalum, M is an element includes at least one selected from the group consisting of V (vanadium), W (tungsten), Ni (nickel) and Mo (molybdenum), x is 40 to 98 at. %, z is 1.5 to 55 at. %, and u is 0.5 to 40 at. %. To maximize catalytic activity the material is preferably in the form of nanoparticles. The values of x, z and u are selected such that the element exhibits X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy peaks derived from an oxygen bond and a metal bond in which a peak area derived from the oxygen bond is twice or less of a peak area derived from the metal bond.