<p>Manganese monoxide (MnO) is an attractive cathode for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) but suffers from poor conductivity and sluggish kinetics. Herein, we report a porous N-doped carbon-coated MnO microplate composite (MnO@N-C) synthesized via an oxalate co-precipitation route combined with polydopamine coating and subsequent pyrolysis. The resulting material exhibits a distinctive mango stone-like microplate morphology (2&#xa0;μm × 4&#xa0;μm) with a high specific surface area of 220.9 m² g^− 1 and abundant mesopores. The N-doped carbon shell enhances electronic conductivity while the porous architecture facilitates ion transport and induces significant intercalation pseudocapacitance. As a ZIBs cathode, MnO@N-C delivers a high discharge capacity of 190 mAh g^− 1 at 0.1&#xa0;A g^− 1, excellent rate capability (80 mAh g^− 1 at 5&#xa0;A g^− 1), and remarkable long-term cycling stability with 93% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 2 A g^− 1. This work provides a straightforward morphological and compositional engineering strategy for developing high-performance MnO-based cathodes in aqueous ZIBs.</p>