Metastable vanadium dioxide/carbon (VO2(B)/C) nanobelts have been successfully synthesized via a facile surfactant-free hydrothermal method using V2O5 and sucrose as reactants. The VO2(B)/C with carbon content of 0.96 wt.% shows well-distributed nanobelt morphology with an average width of 120-200 nm, thickness of 40-60 nm and length of 1-3 mu m. The nanobelts exhibit preferable electrochemical performances with high initial discharge capacity, good cycling stability and excellent high-rate performance. The initial discharge capacity can reach 218.6 mAh g(-1), and maintain 152.6 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at 50 mA g(-1). When the current density increases to 1000 mA g(-1), the discharge capacity is still as high as 138.2 mAh g(-1). VO2(B)/C nanobelts would be a promising cathode material for lithium ion batteries. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.