The major challenge to promote the commercialization of SnO2 anode materials is to construct unique structures and/or composites that could alleviate the volume effect and extend the lifespan. This study develops an efficient synthetic solution for the preparation of mesoporous SnO2 nanosheets, which involves an evaporation-induced selfassembly process and the following thermal treatment. Surfactant F127 is used as the soft template to form abundant cores. The as-prepared sample intrinsically inherits flexible sheet-like structure and porous features, as characterized with XRD, SEM, TEM and BET techniques. Based on these combining structural benefits, the sample is utilized as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries and exhibits excellent Li+ storage performance such as large and stable reversible capacity, good rate capability, and especially the outstanding durable cycling life of over 1000 cycles, which meets the demands of practical applications. The structural changes of SnO2 nanosheets are observed from the decomposed electrodes after different electrochemical cycles. Moreover, this synthesis strategy may offer an alternative and universal approach for synthesis of other transitional metal oxides or their binary composites as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.