A simple microemulsion-based method has been developed to synthesize ZnCo2(C2O4)(3) nanowires that can be transformed to porous ZnCo2O4 nanowires under annealing conditions. The morphology of porous ZnCo2O4 nanowires can be tuned by the initial ZnCo2(C2O4)(3) nanowires and the annealing temperatures. The as-synthesized porous ZnCo2O4 nanowires have been applied as anode materials of Li-ion batteries, which show superior capacity and cycling performance. The porous one-dimensional (ID) nanostructures and large surface area are responsible for the superior performance. Moreover, it is indicated that porous ZnCo2O4 nanowires synthesized at low annealing temperature (500 degrees C) show larger capacity and better cycling performance than that prepared at high annealing temperature (700 degrees C), because of their higher porosity and larger surface area.