Nanostructure materials often achieve low capacity when the active material mass loading is high. In this communication, high mass-loading tungsten nitride nanowires (WNNWs) were fabricated on a flexible carbon cloth by hydrothermal method and post annealing. The prepared electrode exhibited remarkable cyclic stability and attractive rate capability for lithium storage. It delivers at a current density of 200 mA g(-1), a high capacity of 418 mAh g(-1), which is higher than that of conventional graphite. This research opens more opportunity for the fabrication of three-dimensional metal nitrides as negative electrode material for flexible lithium ion batteries. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.