An anode in a Direct Carbon Fuel Cell (DCFC) operating in a temperature range between 500 and 1200 degrees Celsius is provided. The anode material has high catalytic activity and selectivity for carbon oxidation, sufficient oxygen non-stoichiometry, rapid oxygen chemical diffusion, wide thermodynamic stability window to withstand reducing environment, sufficient electronic conductivity and tolerance to sulfur and CO2 environments. The anode has doped ruthenate compositions A1−xA′xRuO3, AB1−yRuyO3, or A1−xA′xB1−yRuyO3. A and A′ may be divalent, trivalent, or tetravalent cation, and B is a multivalent cation. A is among lanthanide series elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Er or Yb, and dopant A′ is from Group IIA, IIIB, or IVB elements. The doped ruthenates can also be a (AB1−yRuyO3) structure or an ordered Ruddlesden-Popper series ((A1−xAx′)n+1(B1−yRuy)nO3n+1) structure where n=1 or 2. The dopant B is among Group IVB, VB, VIB, VIII, IB, and IIB elements.