Ordered mesoporous carbon, volume-doped up to 3w.% with Pt, Ru and Pt-Ru nanoparticles was synthesized by evaporation-induced self-assembly method, under acidic conditions. The content of incorporated metal was determined by EDX analysis. The X-ray diffractometry confirmed the existence of highly dispersed metallic phases in doped samples. Specific surface area was determined by N-2-physisorption measurements to range between 452 and 545m(2) g(-1). Raman spectroscopy of investigated materials indicated highly disordered carbon structure with crystallite sizes around 1.4 nm. In a form of thin-layer electrode on glassy carbon support, in 0.1M KOH solution, the prepared materials displayed high activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media, with onset potentials more positive than -0.10 V vs. SCE. The kinetics of O-2 reduction was found to be affected by both the specific surface area and the concentration of metal dopants. The ethanol tolerance of (Pt, Ru)-doped OMCs was found to be higher than that of common Pt/C ORR catalysts. Presented study provides a new route for the synthesis of active and selective ORR catalysts in alkaline media, being competitive with, or superior to, the existing ones in terms of performance and price. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.