Development of cost-effective, highly-active and durable catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical to sustainable energy conversion and storage devices. Perovskite oxides are exploited as a research frontier on OER, however, their activity and stability are still far from desirable. Herein, we highlight a paradigm shift in the design of highly efficient perovskite-type catalysts for OER by engineering anion defect. The Cl-doped LaFeO2.85Cl0.15 perovskite demonstrates an enhanced OER activity, which is attributed to the abundant surface oxygen vacancies and low adsorption energy of H2O molecule after Cl doping. Moreover, the LaFeO2.85Cl0.15 catalyst also delivers an improved electrocatalytic durability, in contrast to the pristine LaFeO3 catalyst. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.