Niobium (Nb) and nitrogen (N) co-doped diamond-like carbon (DLC) film ((Nb:N)-DLC) was fabricated by reactive magnetron sputtering. Atomic force microscopy, Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology, microstructure, and composition of the (Nb:N)-DLC film. The (Nb:N)-DLC film has typical DLC characteristics with enlarged and uniform specific surface area. Electrochemical tests show that the proposed co-doped DLC electrode not only presents fast apparent rate constant (1.92 x 10(-2) cm s(-1)), low charge transfer resistance (13.86 Omega cm(2)), but also possesses excellent electrochemical reversibility and stability in K3Fe(CN)(6) electrolyte. Furthermore, the (Nb:N)-DLC electrode was applied to the determination of dopamine (DA) and an apparent current response to a low concentration of 0.5 mu M was obtained by differential pulse voltammetry. (c) 2017 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.