Nitrogen doped water-hyacinth graphite with little iron (NFe-WHG) is synthesized by using water hyacinth as carbon source, dopamine hydrochloride as N source and Fe(NO3)(3) as Fe source. The water hyacinth is carbonized to porous carbon; the addition of Fe increases pore diameter, graphitization degree, total N and pyridinic N content. The characterizadons indicate that the doping N contributes great on ORR activity, yet the residual Fe species themselves show inconspicuous catalytic effect on ORR. The NFe-WHG with the above features displays superior ORR activity in alkaline media and comparable ORR activity to commercial Pt/C in acidic media. Due to the graphite matrix and that most of the Fe species have been removed, the NFe-WHG shows excellent stability in both alkaline and acidic media with excellent anti-methanol and anti-CO performances. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.