Graphene-covered and carbon-encapsulated CoSO4 nanoparticles (a-C@CoSO4@GNs) were first prepared by a facile solution-phase route followed by heat treatment. Subsequently, a-C@CoSO4@GNs nanoparticles were utilized as anode materials of Li ion batteries. Such a rationally designed three-dimensional nanostructure could effectively accommodate the volume expansion of CoSO4 particles during Li-cycling. As a consequence, a-C@CoSO4@GNs have delivered remarkable electrochemical performances, i.e., high first discharge capacity (994 mA h g(-1)), prominent cyclic performance of 662.7 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 200 mA g(-1) and excellent large-current capacity of 497 mA h at a current density of 1.5 A after 50 cycles due to catalytically reduced mechanism. More importantly, a-C@CoSO4@GNs electrodes possessed outstanding low/high temperature properties, i.e., reversible capacity of 130 mA h g(-1) at 20 degrees C and 1362 mA h g(-1) at 60 degrees C at a current density of 200 mA g(-1). These advantageous attributes make inexpensive, easily available, widespread and non-toxic CoSO4 promising candidate as anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries under extremely operational environments. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.