The Fe3O4@MOF composite with a microspheric core and a porous metal-organic framework (MOF HKUST-1) shell has been successfully synthesized utilizing a versatile Layer-by-Layer (LBL) assembly method. The structure was identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the morphology was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The Fe3O4@MOF composite exhibited outstanding electrochemical properties when it was used as an anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). After 100 discharge-charge cycles at a current density of 100 mA g(-1), the reversible capacity of Fe3O4@MOF could maintain similar to 1002 mAh g(-1), which was much higher than that of the bare Fe3O4 counterpart (696 mAh g(-1)). Moreover, load the current density as high as 2 A g-1 (after 70 cycles at the current density step increased from 0.1 to 2 A g(-1)), it still delivered a reversible capacity of similar to 429 mAh g(-1). The results demonstrate that the cycling stability of Fe3O4 as an anode could be significantly improved by coating Cu-3(1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate)(2) (HKUST-1). This strategy may offer new route to prepare other composite materials using different particles and suitable Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for LIBs application. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.