With a theoretically high capacity and suitable discharge/charge plateaus, lithium vanadates (such as Li0.04V2O5) can be used as cathode material for lithium ion batteries. Herein, Li0.04V2O5 nanowires are densely anchored onto reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets to form a Li0.04V2O5@rGO nanocomposite by a hydrothermal method with subsequent thermal treatment. Due to this unique structure, the Li0.04V2O5@rGO exhibits remarkable rate performance and excellent cycling stability. Specifically, it delivers a reversible discharge capacity of 738.09 mA h g(-1) at a current density of 100 mA g(-1) in the voltage range of 2.0-4.0 V. After 500 cycles, it still maintains a high capacity of 731.70 mA h g(-1), which represents 95.01% retention of the original reversible capacity. These results indicate that the Li0.04V2O5@rGO could be a promising candidate as cathode active material for long-term cycling performance in lithiumion batteries. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.