Nitrogen-doped porous carbon electrodes with remarkable specific capacitance have been fabricated by the rational carbonization of zinc(II)-bis(8-hydroxyquinoline) (abbr. Znq(2)) coordination polymer, and heating treatment with CO(NH2)(2). The experimental results demonstrate that the mass ratio of carbon precursor and CO(NH2)(2) plays a key role in the formation of porous carbon with various nitrogen content as well as specific surface areas and pore structures. The cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements show that the capacitive performance has been remarkably improved by doping with nitrogen. The specific capacitance of 219.2 F g(-1) is achieved at the current density of 1 A g(-1) with nitrogen-doped porous carbon, increasing up to ca. 56.8% compared to that with pristine porous carbon. The nitrogen-doped porous carbon electrode exhibits enhance capacitance retention as ca. 45.2% at 20 A g(-1) as well as cycling stability (Co. 7.6% loss after 3000 cycles). The present carbonization method as well as the nitrogen-doping method for porous carbon from coordination polymer can enrich the strategies for the production of carbon-based electrodes materials in the application of electrochemical capacitors. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.