The present invention is an oxygen reduction catalyst that contains composite particles, each of which is obtained by dispersing primary particles of a titanium compound in a carbon structure. The oxygen reduction catalyst is characterized in that: the oxygen reduction catalyst contains titanium, carbon, nitrogen and oxygen as constituent elements; if the number of titanium atoms is taken as 1, the atomic ratio of carbon to titanium is more than 2 but 5 or less, the atomic ratio of nitrogen to titanium is more than 0 but 1 or less, and the atomic ratio of oxygen to titanium is from 1 to 3 (inclusive); and the intensity ratio of the peak intensity of the D band to the peak intensity of the G band (D/G ratio) in the Raman spectrum is 0.4-1.0. The oxygen reduction catalyst of the present invention exhibits excellent initial performance, while having excellent start and stop durability.