Silver nanoparticles supported on cobalt and nitrogen embedded reduced graphene oxide, Ag/Co-NGr, are synthesized by one-step hydrothermal route with remarkable catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). As-synthesized electrocatalyst exhibits half-wave potential (0.82 V) comparable to commercial Pt/C (0.85 V), specific activity (0.45 mA cm(-2)) better than commercial Pt/C (0.35 mA cm(-2)) along with superior stability in alkaline environment (approximate to 95% activity retention after 5000s compared to 80% for Pt/C). Moreover, Ag/Co-NGr is highly tolerant to methanol poisoning during ORR and delivers an excellent specific capacity of 789 mAh.g(-1)zn with energy density of 947 Wh. kg(-1) at a current density of 20 mA cm(-2) in a Zn-air battery. For the first time, it is proven that particle size refinement and electronic perturbation of Ag nanoparticles take place due to metal-support interactions between Ag and Co/NGr. d-band center of Ag in Ag/Co-NGr upshifts toward the Fermi level with respect to the Ag/NGr as a result of charge transfer between Ag and Co/NGr. The superior catalytic activity and excellent stability of Ag/Co-NGr is attributed to the structural and electronic modification of Ag nanoparticles by Co and N elements on graphene. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.