Following hard template method, nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanospheres (NHCPs) were successfully prepared by using monodisperse silica microspheres as a template and dopamine as carbon and nitrogen precursor. A series of NHCPs-x samples with different pyrolysis temperatures were reported. The composite material formation was characterized by detailed methods (e.g., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy). Results indicated that NHCPs treated at 750 degrees C with highest amounts of pyrindinic N showed improved electro-catalytic activity for nitrobenzene (NB) in neutral solution. NHCPs-750 can be developed as an effective sensing platform for the detection of NB, which showed high activity and superior analytical performance, such as a wide linear range of 5-2610 mu M, a high sensitivity of 436 mu AmM-1, and a low limit of detection of 2.29 mu M.