To meet the design requirements for high-rate battery electrodes, self-supporting hierarchical rGO@Ni nanosheet@Co3O4 nanowire array film with light weight is synthesized via a series of controllable fabrication processes. Due to modifying the highly conductive nickel nanosheets onto the surface of rGO film, the energy storage performance of this hybrid film is enhanced, especially in rate capability. The whole high-rate battery, which is fabricated by using this film as the positive electrode, manifests the maximum energy density of 203 Wh kg(-1) at a power density of 326 W kg(-1) along with excellent capacity retention of 81.4% after 5000 cycles. Therefore, the rGO-Ni-Co3O4 hybrid film is a promising electrode material for flexible long-life cycling high-rate batteries. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.