Graphene-based materials might serve as an ideal platform for the regulation and promotion of metalloprotein electron transfer (ET); however, the underpinning mechanism at the molecular level has not yet been fully revealed. The orientation of cytochrome c (Cyt c) on surfaces is vital for ET. In this work, the orientation of Cyt con graphene and graphene oxide (GO) surfaces, as well as the dominant driving forces, the conformational change and the ET pathways were investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that Cyt c is adsorbed onto the GO surface mainly through lysine residues; whereas hydrophobic interaction contributes to the Cyt c adsorption on graphene surface. There is no significant conformational change of Cyt c upon adsorption. The heme plane of Cyt c tends to be horizontally oriented and far away from the graphene surface, which is not conducive to ET. On the GO surface, the heme plane is slightly deviated from the normal direction to the surface and the axial ligand Met80 is much closer to the surface, which facilitates the ET. These findings shed some light on the ET mechanism of Cyt c on graphene-based materials and provide guidance for the development of bionic electronic devices. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.