NiCo2O4/carbon black (NiCo2O4/C) composite is successfully synthesized by a facile solution route, and used as counter electrode (CE) for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The DSCs based on NiCo2O4/C composite CE achieves a power conversion efficiency of 6.27%, which is much higher than that of NiO/C (5.07%), Co304/C (4.82%) or pristine C (4.34%). Also, the fill factors of DSCs devices with the NiCo2O4/C CE are better than that of other CEs. Compared to pristine C, the NiCo2O4/C composite has a marked improvement on electrocatalytic performance for the reduction of triiodide. Due to the synergistic effect between C and NiCo2O4, the NiCo2O4/C CE possesses both high efficiency and stability. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.