A novel wet chemical approach was developed to synthesize tin oxide-based powders. The microstructure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the materials were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical methods. The particles of tin oxide-based materials form an interconnected network structure-like mesoporous material. The average size of the particles is about 150 nm. The material delivers a charge capacity of more than 570 mAh g(-1). The capacity loss per cycle is about 0.15 % after cycling 30 times. The electrochemical performance indicates that this kind of tin oxide-based material is a promising anode for lithium ion batteries. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.