The reasonable design of the precursor of a carbonbased nanocatalyst is an important pathway to improve catalytic performance. In this study, a simple solvothermal method was used to synthesize [Cu(TPT)(2,5-tdc)] • 2H 2 O (Cu-MOF), which contains N and S atoms, in one step. Further insitu carbonization of the Cu-MOF as the precursor was used to synthesize Cu/Cu x S-embedded N,S-doped porous carbon (Cu/Cu x S/NSC) composites. The catalytic activities of the prepared Cu/Cu x S/NSC were investigated through catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The results show that the designed Cu/Cu x S/NSC has exceptional catalytic activity and recycling stability, with a reaction rate constant of 0.0256 s À 1 , and the conversion rate still exceeds 90 % after 15 cycles. Meanwhile, the efficient catalytic reduction of dyes (CR, MO, MB and RhB) confirmed its versatility. Finally, the active sites of the Cu/Cu x S/NSC catalysts were analyzed, and a possible multicomponent synergistic catalytic mechanism was proposed.