The application of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in electrocatalytic energy conversion is reviewed. MOFs are promising electrocatalysts for reactions, such as oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER), hydrogen evolution reaction/hydrogen oxidation reaction (HER/HOR), fuels oxidation and production. The applications of MOFs in these domains are diverse. They can be directly used as catalytic centres with and/or without supporting carbon materials. The frameworks can be used as supports to load metal or oxide nanoparticles. After pyrolysis, MOFs can form a composite of a metal or an oxide with carbon. Various carbon materials can be derived via a heat-treatment of MOFs, followed by an acid treatment. They can also serve as precursors to synthesize nanoalloys or composites with noble metals (e.g. Pt and Pd). Since more and more efforts have been devoted to apply MOFs to the field of energy conversion, we present a summary of the most significant results from the literature, to facilitate further development of these kinds of materials in the domain of energy conversion.