<p>Porous carbon (PC) derived from coal tar pitch (CTP) is a suitable electrode material for energy storage devices due to its high surface area, high conductivity, cost-effectiveness, and eco-friendliness. Phosphorous-doping (P-doping) may augment the physicochemical and electrochemical characteristics of PC. Herein, the phosphorus-doped porous carbon material was synthesized by a one-step carbonization-activation method using coal tar pitch as a carbon precursor and zinc phytate as a hard template and a phosphorus source. The phosphorus-doped mesoporous carbon (PMC-900) delivered a specific capacitance of 277 Fg^− 1 at a current density of 0.1&#xa0;A g^− 1 and excellent cycle performance with no capacitance decay after 10,000 cycles at 5&#xa0;A g^− 1 in 6&#xa0;M KOH aqueous electrolyte. Furthermore, it delivered a high energy density of 13.5 Whkg^− 1 at a power density of 43.8&#xa0;Wkg^− 1. The proposed study indicates promising application prospects of the CTP-derived mesoporous carbon in supercapacitors application.</p>