Molybdenum oxysalt is a promising electrode candidate for lithium ion battery due to its flexible composition structure and large Li-storage capacity. An unprecedented MnMoO4 with a carbon overlayer is synthesized by room-temperature reaction of manganese salt and molybdate, followed hydrothermal treatment with glucose. The rod-like MnMoO4@C exhibits excellent electrochemical performance as an anode for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. A large reversible capacity of 1050mAhg−1 can be retained after 200 cycles at a current density of 100mAg−1. The improved lithium storage performance is attributed to the presence of electrically-conductive carbon coating, which can improve the lithium transportation and alleviate the large volume change of ternary metal oxide during repetitive cycling.