Here we report the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Ag nanoparticles supported on boron doped multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Ag/B-MWCNTs) with different Ag loadings synthesized by a facile chemical method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) measurements were employed to investigate the morphology and crystal structure of the as-prepared catalysts. The electrochemical results demonstrated that all the Ag/B-MWCNTs samples catalyzed the ORR in alkaline media by an efficient four-electron pathway. Furthermore, Ag/B-MWCNTs with lowest Ag loading (20%) performed the highest mass activity towards ORR mainly due to the synergistic effect of Ag nanoparticles and B-MWCNTs. This work brings insight into the role of supporting materials in reducing the loading of metal catalyst towards low-cost ORR in alkaline media. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.