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A mathematical model for phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) cathodes has been developed. The model, based on equations that take activation and diffusional problems into account, provides a description of the electrochemical behaviour of the electrode. These studies allow optimization of the morphological characteristics of this cell component and improvement in the performance of the whole fuel cell. In particular, the sensitivity analysis carried out on the model provides information on the influence of single parameters. Accordingly, the as optimized cathode allowed a performance of 700 mV at 200 mAcm−2 in air; the corresponding cell potential also increased from 500 mV at 150 mAcm−2 to 510mV at 200 mAcm−2.