A nitrogen-doped carbon catalyst with trace iron (N/C/Fe-c, 0.54 wt.% Fe) has been prepared through pyrolysis of polyaniline (PANI)-iron coordination polymer. Electrochemical results demonstrate that N/C/ Fe-c catalyst displays excellent oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic activity and shows almost the same diffusion-limited current density for ORR as Pt/C catalyst in acid media. FTIR and XPS measurements indicate that Fe3+ ions coordinate with N atoms of the PANI chains and N/C/Fe-c has a high ratio of graphitic N, which are responsible for high ORR activity. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.