The nitrogen doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) derived from pyrrole-co-furfural copolymer has been successfully developed by using an SBA-15 template. The as-prepared NMCs possess well-defined mesoporous structures with a narrow pore size distribution, high porosity and large surface area (up to similar to 1812 m(2) g(-1)). Using NMC as the supports, a hybrid catalyst of CoO nanoparticles loaded on NMCs (CoNMC) were prepared for the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. The optimized CoNMC catalyst exhibits efficient catalytic activity with a four-electron reaction pathway and superior stability to the commercial Pt/C electrocatalyst. Furthermore, the high catalytic activity of CoNMC catalysts are mainly attributed to the high surface area and the synergetic effect between the N-doped carbon supports and cobalt oxides. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.