MnO₂-based cathodes for aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) suffer from the sluggish kinetics of Zn²⁺ migration and chemical instability during cycling, severely impeding its practical application. The group Ⅷ metal (Fe, Co and Ni) doping in MnO₂ is an intriguing idea to improve the electrochemical performance of MnO₂-based electrodes for AZIBs due to its special electronic structure of d shell. According to density functional theory calculation results, the doping-element facilitates the increase in kinetics of Zn²⁺ migration and increase chemical stability during cycling. When tested in AZIBs, a Fe-doping MnO₂ (FMO) electrode exhibits a superior cycling stability (a high specific capacity of 338.2 mAh g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ with a capacity retention of 86.3% after 200 cycles), as same as that of Co and Ni-doping MnO₂ electrode. In combination of in-situ X-ray diffraction and ex-situ transmission electron microscope studies reveal that layered-FMO undergoes a structural transition to Zn_xMnO₂, Mn₃O₄ and ZnMn₂O₄, accompanying with the formation of ZnSO₄(OH)₆·5H₂O during discharging process, while those phases revert back to the parent phase during the subsequent Zn extraction. This study might build a solid foundation for developing powerful cathode in AZIBs.