In this work, we report a simple cotton template route for the preparation of carbon coated porous Co3O4 nanosheets for superior lithium ion batteries (LIBs). As an anode material, the Co3O4 nanosheet shows a high capacity of 1735.4 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 200 mA g(-1) and keeps 940 mA h g(-1) after 600 cycles at a higher current density of 1000 mA g(-1). The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to both the porous nanosheet structure and the coated carbon layer, which can offer a large specific surface area, provide numerous active sites, buffer the volume expansion, highly improve the conductivity, as well as promote the diffusion of electrolyte and the formation of stable SEI film. The facile synthesis method also provides an effective way for large-scale preparation of efficient anode materials in LIBs.