Abstract The electron acceleration in a prepared ion channel is studied theoretically by using a radially polarized (RP) cosh-Gaussian (ChG) laser pulse. The peculiar propagation properties of ChG laser cause it to focus early and over a shorter time than a Gaussian laser pulse, making it suitable for accelerating electrons to extremely high energies over a small duration. The electrostatic field formed by an ion channel prevents electrons from escaping the interaction zone due to their transverse oscillations, whereas the decentering parameter of the ChG laser pulse influences electron energy gain. This combined role of RP-ChG laser and the effect of an ion channel causes an enhancement in the electron energy gain significantly to the order of GeV with laser intensity (∼ 10 20   W c m − 2 ) in an ion density channel (∼ 10 22   m − 3 ) with decentered parameter (∼2.15) for an incident laser pulse at initial phase ( ψ 0 = π ).