Highly efficient, low-cost catalysts, especially with bifunctional electrocatalytic capabilities for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are vital for the wide commercialization of fuel cells and metal-air batteries. In this study, BaMnO3 - a non-rare-earth element based perovskite nanorods have been prepared and investigated for the first time, and a thin carbon-coating with a thickness of approximately 10nm has been successfully introduced to enhance the electrical conductivity of the bare perovskite. Electrochemical tests reveal that bare BaMnO3 nanorods exhibit very good catalytic activity. More interestingly, a remarkably enhanced ORR activity for the perovskite BaMnO3 nanorods was observed after coating with a thin layer of carbon, which dominated with a direct four-electron pathway. Meanwhile, the OER process has also been enhanced extraordinarily with the carbon-coating, reaching a maximum of 14.8mAcm−2 at 1.0V (vs. Ag/AgCl), which is far superior to both the bare BaMnO3 nanorods and commercial Pt/C (20wt%) catalysts. Furthermore, the stabilities of bare BaMnO3 nanorods for both ORR and OER have also been improved dramatically with the help of carbon coating. These results shed light on the significant potential application of the carbon-coated perovskite BaMnO3 porous nanorods on fuel cells and metal-air batteries as an efficient bi-functional catalyst.