In the present communication, we have presented a high performance ethanol sensor based on Pd loaded Sr doped SnO2 nanomaterial. The (0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3) wt% Pd loaded 4mol% Sr doped SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared using a co-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HR-TEM), Selected Area Electron Diffraction (SAED), Field Emission Gun-Scanning Electron Microscope (FEG-SEM), (SEM-EDAX) Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive Analysis by X-ray techniques. The gas response studies such as sensitivity, selectivity and stability towards liquid petroleum gas (LPG), ammonia (NH3), acetone (CH3COCH3) and ethanol (C2H5OH) were measured at 100ppm concentrations. The results show that optimum Pd loading (2.5wt%) results in smaller crystallite size (~3.7nm), lower operating temperature (275°C), higher gas response (93%),better selectivity, faster response (~1s) and quicker recovery (~5s) towards ethanol.