An easy and effective strategy is developed to produce alpha-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) anchored on conducting graphene sheets by a hydrothermal reaction, without any reducing agents. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the alpha-Fe2O3 NPs are 70-85 nm in size and homogeneously anchored on the graphene sheets. As high-performance anodes for lithium-ion batteries, the obtained material exhibits an excellent reversible capacity of similar to 1050 mAh g(-1) based on the total mass. Its cycling performance and rate capability are drastically improved, exhibiting a high charge capacity of 1000 +/- 50 mAh g(-1) with no noticeable capacity fading up to 100 cycles in the voltage range 0.1-3.0V at 50 mA g(-1). These results highlight the importance of the anchoring of NPs on graphene sheets for maximum use of electrochemically active Fe2O3 NPs and graphene for energy storage applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.