Ru is a promising candidate for replacing Pt as a cost-effective and stable catalyst for hydrogen evolution when performing water electrolysis techniques. Its catalytic activity and efficiency for the hydrogen evolution reaction were found to be greatly boosted by carrying out a facile construction of Ru nanoparticles assembled as a shell over semimetal Te nanorod surfaces in an acid electrolyte. The high catalytic activity and efficiency of this product make its use promising in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis technology.