Fuel cells with direct oxidation of formic acid are promising converters of chemical reaction energy into electricity due to the high open-circuit potential, safe (non-flammable and non-toxic) fuel and higher energy characteristics compared to chemical current sources with direct oxidation of alcohols. The crossover effect with a low formic acid content allows the thin membrane application, as well as a high concentration of fuel (up to 20 M), which helps to increase the structure specific power parameters as a whole. Catalysts based on Pt or Pd are widely used in the electrooxidation reaction of formic acid. It has been known that catalysts based Pd are more effective than that Pt due to their resistance to carbon monoxide as the main reaction product. In this paper, the volt-ampere and watt-ampere characteristics of formic acid-based fuel cells and air under model operating conditions were studied. The tests were carried out on a certified laboratory stand of a fuel cell, to which a working model of the investigated membrane-electrode unit was connected. The optimal characteristics of the catalyst loading are established to achieve optimal parameters of current density and specific power. The creation of new catalysts and the modification of existing ones will help to increase the electrodes operation time, reduce the production cost, in-crease their efficiency by increasing efficiency, and also use as fuel not only hydrogen, but also other fuels such as formic acid.