In this work, a naphthalene tetracarboxylic acid lithium salt (NTCLi) as anode material is designed for lithium-ion batteries, with high theoretical capacity and conjugated system according to the combination principles of multi-carboxyl groups and low molecular weight, which is prepared through a simple one-pot neutralization reaction. The sample is characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, IR and TGA. The results show that NTCLi exhibits nanorod-like structure, well thermal stability and crystalline structure. The electrochemical measurements results demonstrate the initial discharge capacity of 276mAhg−1 with low discharge platform (~0.9V) at the current density of 0.1C are achieved for NTCLi, and the discharge specific capacity of 190mAhg−1 can be retained after 100 cycles. Also, NTCLi delivers good rate capability with discharge capacity of up to 112mAhg−1, even at a current density as high as 2C, indicating the as-prepared sample could be a promising candidate as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.