Graphene and nitrogen doped graphene have been prepared by modified Hummers' method and the following ammonia heat-treatment process, respectively. The effects of N-doping on the structure of graphene have been systematically investigated by various characterization techniques. SEM, TEM, BET, Raman and XRD analysis were used to distinguish the difference of the microstructures; and FT-IR, XPS, especially XANES were performed to elucidate the bonding information such as C-N. The effect of nitrogen doping on the structure of graphene has been obtained. More defects are present on nitrogen doped graphene as elucidated by BET, XRD, Raman, and XANES characterizations. XANES analysis also indicates that the N-doping decreases the surface oxygen-containing groups. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier B. V.