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Dispersing small Ru nanoparticles into BN@rGO composite realizes a high-efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction performance. [Display omitted] • An efficient Ru/BN@C electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution catalyst has been successfully synthesized. • Homogeneous dispersion and size control of Ru nanoparticles were achieved using h-BN as substrate. • The optimal Ru/BN@C (Ru wt.% = 2.22 %) exhibits excellent HER activity in both alkaline and acidic conditions. • DFT calculations reveal that the small ΔG H* and moderate ΔG b endow Ru/BN@C excellent HER activity. Ruthenium (Ru) electrocatalysts suffer from excessive aggregation during the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), which hinders their practical application for hydrogen production. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is a potential carrier that could solve the above problem, but its wide band gap and low conductivity become obstacles. Herein, we provide a new, facile, low-cost, and effective strategy (killing two birds with one stone) to overcome the above issues. After modifying h-BN with reduced graphene oxide (rGO), a small amount of Ru nanoparticles (NPs) (2.2 %) are dispersed into BN with approximately uniform distribution and size control of Ru nanoparticles (∼3.85 nm). The strong synergy between Ru NPs and BN@C in the optimal Ru/BN@C (Ru wt.% = 2.22 %) electrocatalyst endows it an outstanding HER activity, with small HER overpotentials (η 10 = 32 mV, 35 mV) and low Tafel slopes (33.89 mV dec−1, 37.66 mV dec−1) in both 1 M KOH and 0.5 M H 2 SO 4 media, respectively, along with good long-term stability for 50 h. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the addition of Ru to BN has been successful in creating fresh active sites for H*, with good possible adsorption/desorption ability (ΔG H* = −0.24 eV) while preserving low water dissociation (ΔG b = 0.46 eV) in an alkaline environment. As a result, the Ru/BN composite exhibits outstanding HER activity in both acidic and alkaline conditions. Furthermore, this study provides, for the first time, a template-free strategy to develop a good and low-cost supporter (BN) for dispersing other noble metals and the formation of highly efficient HER/OER electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]