In the present work, efforts have been made to enhance the performance of carbon nanofibers in charge storage applications that are hindered by their inert surface and high graphitic content. In this regard, a ternary nanocomposite of carbon nanofibers-chitosan and cobalt nanoparticles (CNF-CS/Co) has been prepared via simple strategy. The material characterization of the nanocomposite revealed a large surface area of 188.3 m(2) g(-1). The electrochemical characterization of CNF-CS/Co as a supercapacitor electrode has resulted in a high specific capacitance of 438.6 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1), which has been found to greatly improved from that of pristine CNF (81.3 F g(-1)), Co (129.7 F g(-1)) and CNF-CS (187.2 F g(-1)). The assembled 1.2 V symmetric supercapacitor using CNF-CS/Co resulted in high energy density of 38.2 Wh.kg(-1) along with electrochemical stability of 95.6% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. Considering the facile preparation and results, the CNF-CS/Co nanocomposite could be well deserved for high performance supercapacitors.