Amorphous and mesoporous NiO/carbon composite is prepared by a one-step and cost-efficient solution combustion process at only 250 degrees C within 30 min in air. The effects of fuel dosages on phase composition, morphology and electrochemical capacitive behaviors of products are investigated. Experimental results demonstrate that the optimized amorphous NiO/carbon composite shows a high specific capacitance of 1272 F/g (or an areal capacitance of 1.82 F/cm(2)) at 1 A/g, along with an excellent rate performance (642.5 F/g at 10 A/g) under a mass loading of 1.43 mg/cm(2). With even a high mass loading of 938 mg/cm(2), the specific capacitance of this composite still remains a high volume of 588.5 F/g (or an areal capacitance of 5.52 F/cm(2)). Meanwhile, the electrode retains 77% of its initial capacitance after 2000 cycles at a high current density of 10 A/g. The effects of crystalline degree on the electrochemical performance have also been investigated by annealing samples in air or N-2 atmospheres. The 2 h annealed sample in N-2 atmosphere shows a specific capacitance up to 1527 F/g, due to the improvement of carbonization. Current study suggests that this combustion process has promise in mass production of well-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.