The platinum based catalyst exhibits good “oxygen reduction reaction” (ORR) activity while its lower methanol tolerance and high cost obstructs its commercialization. In order to replace this precious metal containing ORR catalysts, transition metal oxides and their composites have been extensively studied. Among the various transition metal oxides, oxides of manganese have attracted massive interest because of their high electrochemical stability, availability, low cost, variable oxidation states and effective catalytic properties. Among the various rare earth oxides, CeO₂ is extensively studied. To facilitate the catalytic activity of CeO₂, either doping with transition metal and/or integration with a conducting framework is required. In this paper, we have reported the synthesis of manganese doped CeO₂/reduced graphene oxide (Mn-CeO₂/rGO) nanocomposite with varying manganese concentration using microwave mediated solvothermal method. The ORR activity of synthesized nanocomposites has been studied in basic medium. An optimized 5% Mn doped CeO₂/rGO leads to highest ORR activity among the studied catalysts. The synthesized nanocomposite surpasses Pt/C in terms of methanol tolerance and stability.