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Compared to extensively studied oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis in alkaline media, development of highly active and stable nonprecious metal catalysts (NPMCs) to replace Pt in acidic electrolytes remains grand challenges. Among currently studied catalysts, the Fe-N-C formulation holds the greatest promise for the ORR in acid. Here, we report a new highly active and stable Fe-N-C catalyst featured with well-dispersed atomic Fe in porous carbon matrix. It was prepared through one single thermal conversion from Fe-doped ZIF-8, a metal–organic framework (MOF) containing Zn²⁺ and well-defined Fe–N₄ coordination. Unlike other Fe-N-C catalyst preparation, no additional tedious post-treatments such as acid leaching and the second heating treatment are required in this work. Notably, an O₂-free environment for preparing the Fe-doped ZIF-8 precursor is found to be crucial for yielding uniform Fe …