In this work, a low-cost, N-doped, porous carbon material with high surface area is synthesized by carbonizing chicken bones. The N-doped porous carbon material has high specific surface area. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of obtained carbon material is ca. 769 m(2)g(-1) with a pore size distribution in the range of 1-4 nm. Compared to a commercial Pt/C (10 wt%) catalyst, oxygen reduction in alkaline medium on the synthesized carbon material exhibits comparable electrocatalytic activity, long term-operating durability and excellent CH3OH tolerance, rendering it as a potential alternative to Pt-based catalysts. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.