Nano-rod typed electrocatalyst of platinum–iron-sulfur (R-PtFeS) nanoparticles on carbon support were synthesized via a modified polyol process in teflon-sealed reactor. Overlapping the two-dimensional mapping of each element from a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) in a single particle of PtFeS confirm rod typed morphology, which consist of the Sulfur stabilized iron–scare and platinum-rich content near the particle surface with average size around 3.5nm and X-ray diffraction patterns of the R-PtFeS catalyst suggest successful formation of alloy without presence of individual Pt, Fe, and S nanoparticles. The electrochemical surface areas (ECSAs) and ORR activities of R-PtFeS catalysts were measured using a rotating disk electrode technique with cyclic voltammetry and the linear sweep method. The R-PtFeS catalysts showed the higher activity for ORR than that of Pt and spherical typed PtFe catalysts without sulfur (S-PtFe), which might be attributed to more favorable compressive strain between the FeS alloy in the core region and the Pt atom in the shell region. More importantly, the durability of the R-PtFeS catalyst is higher than that of Pt catalyst after 3000 potential sweeps, which was ascribed to the covalent bonds of sulfur for Fe. Furthermore, The PEMFCs single cell performance employing R-PtFeS catalyst exhibits an enhanced cell performance compared to a single cell using the Pt catalysts, demonstrating the importance of electronic and geometric control of Pt alloy nanoparticles that can improve the catalytic activity and stability. This synergistic combination of the anchoring effect of sulfur for the iron and morphology control for the Pt could provide the direction of development of Pt catalyst toward the oxygen reduction reaction.