We report on the strategy of Cu doping inducing the nanosize effect of CoO and their application as anode for lithium ion batteries. With an increase of Cu-doped amount, the structures and morphologies of COO have special changes. The 0.05 mol Cu-doped CoO shows straw-like bundle structure assembled by nanorods, and the nanorods consist of ultra small nanoparticles (about 6-8 nm). Meanwhile, it shows an excellent rates performance and cycle life. The capacity of 800 mA h g(-1) is obtained at 0.5 C after 80 cycles. The highest discharge capacity is 580 mA h g(-1) at 10 C and the discharge capacities are relatively stable for 1000 cycles as an anode for Li-ion battery. Therefore, the controllable Cu-doped CoO composite could be deemed to be a potential candidate as an anode material. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.