A series of Co nanoparticles embedded, N-doped mesoporous carbons have been synthesized through chelate-assisted co-assembly strategy followed by thermal treatment. The preparation is based on an assembly process, with evaporation of an ethanol water solution containing melamine formaldehyde resin (MF resin) as carbon source, nitrogen source, and chelating agent. Moreover, F127 and Co(NO3)(2) are used as template and metallic precursor, respectively. The Co nanoparticles embedded, N-doped mesoporous carbon annealed at 800 degrees C (denoted as MFCo800) shows high electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with high current density and low overpotential, which has the ability to operate in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc.