Three kinds of Pd1Ni1/ACx (x=3,5,7) catalysts were synthesized by precipitation co-reduction method with carbon black pretreated with different concentrations of potassium permanganate solution as the carrier, and the best catalysts for electrocatalytic performance were screened. Commercial Pd/C catalyst was as comparison. The physical characterizations (XPS, ICP and TEM) show that Pd1Ni1/AC5 have the largest Pd loading(3.66%) and the smallest average particle size(4.71 nm) of Pd grains which were homogeneously dispersed on carbon black support, so this catalyst has more active sites than the other two; XRD shows that Ni in all three Pd1Ni1/ACx catalysts exist in an amorphous form. In the electrochemical performance test, all three catalysts showed better electrochemical stability and survival than commercial palladium carbon; Pd1Ni1/AC5 had the largest electrochemical active surface area (62.21 m2/gPd) and the best ethanol catalytic activity (1797.85 A/gPd) which is superior to palladium carbon catalyst.