An advanced hybrid electrocatalyst consisting of ZnCo2O4 nanodots and Au decorated carbon nanotubes is developed for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In the catalyst system, carbon nanotubes are served as the support substrate to enhance the conductivity of ZnCo2O4 and provide a high specific area; meanwhile, Au species accelerate the electron-stripping from cobalt ions during the catalytic process, leading to a fast promotion of cobalt ions with high valence state which possess a highly electrocatalytic efficiency. With the well synergistic effect between the components, ZnCo2O4/Au/CNTs exhibits low potential of 1.67 V at j = 10 mA cm(-2), large current density of 97.8 mA cm(-2) at high operating potential (1.8 V), and prominent durability in alkaline. This finding will pave a new avenue to search highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts for water splitting devices. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.