In this communication, we report on the solvothermal preparation of spinel ZnCo2O4/N-doped carbon nanotube (ZnCo2O4/NCNT) composite. As a novel oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst, the ZnCo2O4/NCNT composite shows high activity via a four-electron pathway in alkaline solution. Such catalyst also exhibits superior methanol tolerance ability and durability over commercial Pt/C catalyst. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.