An ordered mesh of palladium with a thickness of about 3 nm was synthesized by a solution-based oxidative etching. The ultrathin palladium nanomeshes have an interconnected two-dimensional network of densely arrayed, ultrathin quasi-nanoribbons that form ordered open holes. The unique mesoporous structure and high specific surface area make these ultrathin Pd nanomeshes display superior catalytic performance for ethanol electrooxidation (mass activity of 5.40 Am g-1 and specific activity of 7.09 mA cm-2 at 0.8 V vs. RHE). Furthermore, the regular mesh structure can be applied to support other noble metals, such as platinum, which exhibits extremely high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity and durability.