Discovering the potential materials and developing the flexible lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are of a great significance. Red phosphorus (P) is considered to be a potential anode material due to its high theoretical capacity of 2596 mAh g(-1). In this paper, a flexible hollow carbon cloth was prepared by carbonization treatment and shows a dependable stability when used as the binder-free anode for LIBs, which indicating it can be used as a flexible substrate for red P loading. Then amorphous red P/carbon cloth (P/C) composite with a high P content of 73.0 (wt%), was prepared via a vaporization adsorption method. The as-prepared P/C composite exhibits a flexible character and also shows excellent electrochemical performance when used in LIBs. At the first discharge the capacity is 1063 mAh g(-1), and its cycle performance is remarkable improved by coating on graphene oxide (GO), up to 82.7% retention of the initial capacity after 200 cycles. The P/C hybrid also shows a potential in the application of flexible LIBs. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.