An Fe/N/C catalyst derived from the pyrolysis of metal-organic frameworks, for example, a zeolitic-imidazolate-framework-8 (ZIF-8), has been regarded as one of the most promising non-precious metal catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, its ORR mass activity is still much inferior to that of Pt, partly because of the lack of general and efficient synthetic strategies. Herein, a general carboxylate-assisted strategy that dramatically enhances the ORR mass activity of ZIF-derived Fe/N/C catalysts is reported. The carboxylate is found to promote the formation of Fe/N/C catalysts with denser accessible active sites and entangled carbon nanotubes, as well as a higher mesoporosity. These structural advantages make the carboxylate-assisted Fe/N/C catalysts show a 2-10 fold higher ORR mass activity than the common carboxylate-free one in various cases. When applied in H-2-O-2 PEMFCs, the active acetate-assisted Fe/N/C catalyst generates a peak power density of 1.33 W cm(-2), a new record of peak power density for a H-2-O-2 PEMFC with non-Pt ORR catalysts.