An ordered, nanostructured, tin-based oxides/carbon composite prepared by the full deposition of tin-based oxides into 3D nanospaces of mesoporous carbon is described. These novel nanostructured hybrid composites (see Figure) demonstrate a much better cycle performance as negative electrodes in lithium-ion batteries than nanosized tin-based oxides when cycled in a wide voltage range (0.02-2.0 V).