In this work, we report the feasibility to achieve high lithium storage capacity and rate capability of Co3O4 anode materials by preparing hierarchically mesoporous structure. The resultant mesoporous Co3O4 hierarchical nanobundles exhibit a high specific capacity and favorable high-rate performance when used as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The reversible specific capacity could be kept at 1667.6 mAh g(-1) at a current density of 0.1 A g(-1) after 60 cycles. Even at high current densities of 1 A g(-1) and 5 A g(-1), the Co3O4 electrodes still could deliver a remarkable discharge capacity of 1264.8 and 603.0 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles, respectively. The unique mesoporous hierarchical structure should be responsible for the superior electrochemical performance. The good rate capability demonstrates the mesoporous Co3O4 hierarchical nanobundles have a great potential as a high-rate anode material in LIBs. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.