Precursors of tungsten carbide/Melamine/carbon aerogels(WC@C/N/CA) porous catalysts were designed and prepared by using the porous carbon aerogels with SiO2 as the hard template and very large specific surface areas were obtained. By adding tungsten carbide, melamine and SiO2 into the early-stage phenolic resin ageing, we prepared the integrated porous catalyst precursors. The chemical state and interaction of key elements in non-Pt catalysts were regulated by high-temperature carbonization, template removal and secondary calcination. Finally, excellent non-Pt oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts were prepared. The catalyst prepared at 850 degrees C formed a core-shell (WC@C) structure, and had good catalyst performance after 4 h of secondary calcination. The ORR activity reached 1.027 V under alkaline media, which is higher than that of commercial Pt/C catalysts. The high ORR activity and stability of the WC@C/N/CA catalysts were explained via X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller measurement. The specific surface area was improved because of the porous structures, resulting in the enhancement on the density of active sites. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Ltd.