The high performance of alpha-MnO2/NGNF catalyzed air cathode for Li-O-2 battery is reported in this article. The alpha-MnO2 nanorods are successfully grown on highly conductive nitrogen doped graphite nanofibers with caterpillar like morphology by a simple hydrothermal technique. The as-prepared alpha-MnO2/N-GNF catalyst exhibits better electrocatalytic performance in terms of oxygen reduction and evolution reactions in the air cathode exhibiting comparatively low overpotential. In addition to the low overpotential, alpha-MnO2/NGNF catalyzed Li-O-2 battery also show high capacity, reversibility and rate capability. The combined effect of alpha-MnO2 and N-GNF for facilitating electrochemical reactions between Li and O-2 is described for improving energy and columbic efficiency of Li-O-2 battery. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.