Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers containing platinum (Pt) or platinum-ruthenium (Pt-Ru) nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by electrospinning of a colloidal solution of PVA/Pt or PVA/Pt-Ru. Trisodium citrate was used to reduce Pt4+ ions from chloroplatinic acid hexahydrate or their combination with Ru3+ ions from ruthenium chloride into Pt or Pt-Ru nanoparticles. PVA was used as both the stabilizer and the polymer template for electrospinning. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were carried out to examine the morphology of the nanofibers as well as the morphology and the distribution of the metal nanoparticles. The average diameter of the nanofibers decreased with an increase in the amount of the metal precursor(s). The size of the metal nanoparticles was in the range of 5-10 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis suggested that the Pt and the Pt-Ru nanoparticles crystallized into fcc packing of Pt. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) indicated possible intereaction between the metal nanoparticles and the PVA matrix molecules.