Carbon materials are widely used for cathode preparation in Li-O-2 battery. The surface oxygen species is a crucial factor for the application of carbon electrode in nonaqueous Li-O-2 battery. In this work, oxygen species on carbon surface was regulated by heat treatment method, and we found oxygen species make double-edged sword effect. On the one hand, oxygen species will weaken the stability of carbon/electrolyte interface. On the other hand, the surface oxygen species shows promoting effect on oxygen reduction reaction, which is evidenced by cyclic voltammetry, tafel test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition to the surface adjustment, the meso-pore and macro-pore volume was enlarged after heat treatment. More importantly, in advantage of more oxygen transport channels and lower affinity to electrolyte, the volume utilization rate of carbon electrode with lower oxygen amount is higher than the untreated carbon electrode. The capacity can reach 9033 mAh g(-1), nearly 1.3 times higher than the untreated one. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.