The hydrophobic property of carbon cloth was largely improved by plasma treatment and the Teflon-like property was effectively applied to fabricate a gas diffusion backing (GDB) for use in membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The surface morphology, hydrophilic/hydrophobic property and electron conductivity of the as-prepared GDB was fully characterized. The water contact angle and SEM microstructure image of the CF 4 , CHF 3 plasma-treated GDB were both indicated as ∼130°, and very few gas diffusion pores either sealed or blocked by excessive hydrophobic material residual. The measured resistivity values of CF 4 plasma, CHF 3 plasma, SF 6 plasma and commercial carbon were 0.45, 0.5, 0.47 and 0.49, respectively, which indicates that the electrical resistivity of carbon cloth with CF 4 plasma treatment was slightly lower than others. In cell performance test, the CF 4 plasma-treated modules could also produce better property than those MEAs prepared with CHF 3 plasma-treated GDB, SF 6 plasma-treated GDB and commercially available GDB, leading to the highest fuel cell performance with an optimal power output of 350mWcm −2 .