Mesoporous nickel cobaltite (NiCo2O4) nanoneedles grown on three dimensional graphene networks have been successfully prepared by a facile solvothermal reaction with subsequent annealing treatment. The NiCo2O4/3DGN hybrid is then used as binder-free electrode for high-performance lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors. The three dimensional graphene based binder-free electrode is considered more desirable than powder nanostructures in terms of shorter Li+ ion diffusion and electron transportation paths, good strain accommodation, better interfacial/chemical distributions and high electrical conductivity. As a result, when used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), it exhibits high specific discharge capacity as well as superior cycling stability up to 2000 cycles. When it is used for supercapacitor application, this hybrid delivers a high specific capacitance of 970Fg−1 at a high current density of 20Ag−1 with excellent capacitance retention of ∼96.5% after 3000 cycles. Moreover, this synthesis strategy is simple and effective, which could be extended to the construction of other three dimensional graphene based metal oxides hybrid for energy applications.