Transition metal carbides as promising anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted wide attention due to their high conductivity and high capacity. In this work, we have developed MoC/C nanowires as anode materials with high capacity and excellent cyclic stability. These nanowires are featured by a mesoporous structure resulting from stacking of carbon coated MoC nanocrystals. This structure provides shortened paths for Li+ diffusion and freeways for electron transfer, moreover, it effectively relieves the volume change of MoC nanocrystallites during the discharge/ charge cycles. Therefore, the MoC/C nanowires exhibit excellent cyclic stability even at high current densities. At 0.2 A g(-1), they perform reversible capacity of 650.3 mAh g(-1) after 350 cycles, with capacity retention of 93.4%. Even at a high current density of 2 A g(-1), they maintain 455.4 mAh g(-1) after 2000 cycles, with average capacity loss rate of only 0.004% per cycle. The high capacity and outstanding stability indicate the potential of the MoC/C nanowires as anode materials for high performance LIBs. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.