In this article we introduce a facile, low cost and additive/template free method to fabricate high-rate electrochemical capacitors. Manganese oxide nanostructures were electrodeposited on electro-etched carbon fiber substrate by applying a constant anodic current. Nanostructured MnO2 on electro-etched carbon fiber was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The electrochemical behavior of MnO2 electro-etched carbon fiber electrode was investigated by electrochemical techniques including cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A maximum specific capacitance of 728.5 F g(-1) was achieved at a scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) for MnO2 electro-etched carbon fiber electrode. Also, this electrode showed exceptional cycle stability, suggesting that it can be considered as a good candidate for supercapacitor electrodes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.