Facile synthesis of rationally designed structures is critical to realize a high performance electrode for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Among different candidates, tin(IV) oxide (SnO2) is one of the most actively researched electrode materials due to its high theoretical capacity (1493 mAh g(-1)), abundance, inexpensive costs, and environmental friendliness. However, severe capacity decay from the volume expansion and low conductivity of SnO2 have hampered its use as a feasible electrode for LIBs. Rationally designed SnO2-based nanostructures with conductive materials can be an ideal solution to resolve such limitations. In this work, we have successfully fabricated porous SnO2-CuO composite nanotubes (SnO2-CuO p-NTs) by electrospinning and subsequent calcination step. The porous nanotubular structure is expected to mitigate the volume expansion of SnO2, while the as-formed Cu from CuO upon lithiation allows faster electron transport by improving the low conductivity of SnO2. With a synergistic effect of both Sn and Cu-based oxides, SnO2-CuO p-NTs deliver stable cycling performance (91.3% of capacity retention, 538 mAh g(-1)) even after 350 cycles at a current density of 500 mA along with enhanced rate capabilities compared with SnO2.