To date, lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) using porous carbon materials as the air cathode have been widely studied. However, a fundamental issue of carbon electrode still remains; the carbon surface is unstable and is highly reactive in contact with Li₂O₂, resulting in the formation of irreversible byproducts (e.g., Li₂CO₃). To address this issue, we investigated the use of surface protection layers for improving the cycling stability of porous carbon-based LOB cathode. We employed atomic layer deposition (ALD) for conformal coating of two types of overlayers (In₂O₃ and TiN), i.e., oxide and nitride thin film, on an electrospun carbon nanopaper (CNp) membrane. The LOB cell with In₂O₃-coated CNp exhibited much enhanced cycling performance (over 140 cycles) compared with pristine CNp and TiN-coated CNp as control samples (less than 60 cycles for both cases). To further improve cell efficiency by reducing overpotentials, the surface of In₂O₃-coated CNp electrode was functionalized by catalytic RuO_x nanoparticles, which enables stable and complete discharging and recharging reactions below 4.2 V for an extended period of 165 cycles. Interestingly, after each discharge, nanosheet-like Li₂O₂ growth was observed on In₂O₃-coated CNps, which is advantageous for enhanced cycle life. This work demonstrates that use of a free-standing, high surface area carbon membrane, that is conformally encapsulated by a highly conductive and stable oxide protection layer, is essential for enhanced Li-O₂ cell performance by preventing direct contact between underneath carbon and electrolyte.