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• PtAuFe/C composite catalyst and Pt/C catalyst are prepared by sodium borohydride direct reduction method. • The PtAuFe/C composite catalyst has better activity and stability than that of the Pt/C catalyst in H 2 SO 4 solution. • The addition of non-precious metal Fe improves the hydrogen evolution property of PtAuFe/C composite catalyst. In this paper, PtAuFe/C composite catalyst and Pt/C catalyst are prepared by sodium borohydride direct reduction method. The physical properties of the catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance of the prepared catalysts is tested by linear scanning voltammetry (LSV) in H 2 SO 4 solution. The results show that the PtAuFe/C composite catalyst has larger specific surface area, smaller overpotential, higher polarization current density and better stability than that of the Pt/C catalyst. The hydrogen evolution mechanism of PtAuFe/C composite catalyst is determined by Tafel curve, and the results show that PtAuFe/C composite catalyst is of composite desorption mechanism. In addition, the effect of temperature and electrolyte concentration on the performance of PtAuFe/C composite catalyst is also studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]