<p>Biomass-derived hard carbon is a promising and sustainable anode for sodium-ion batteries, but its practical application is severely limited by sluggish kinetics and poor rate performance. Here, we report a two-step Ni/N co-doping strategy, in which bamboo precursor is first pre-carbonized at 350℃ to form a stable framework and then impregnated with nickel nitrate and urea followed by high-temperature pyrolysis. Structural characterizations confirm that this process enables uniform Ni/N incorporation, enlarged interlayer spacing, and abundant defect sites while maintaining hierarchical porosity. As a result, the optimized sample exhibits remarkable high-rate capability, delivering reversible capacities of 310 mAh g^− 1 at 0.1&#xa0;A g^− 1 and still retaining 150 mAh g^− 1 even at a high current density of 1&#xa0;A g^− 1, far surpassing pristine and over-doped carbons. Moreover, it shows high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability. The superior rate performance is attributed to the synergistic effects of Ni catalysis and N doping, which significantly enhance electronic conductivity, accelerate Na⁺ diffusion kinetics, and stabilize the electrode structure under fast charge/discharge conditions. This work highlights a simple and scalable approach to producing biomass-derived hard carbon anodes with outstanding rate capability, offering new insights into heteroatom/metal co-doping strategies for advanced sodium-ion batteries.</p>