Carbon-coated SnS2 nanoparticles were prepared by a simple solvothermal route at low temperature. A carbon coating with a thickness of about 5nm was deposited on nano-sized SnS2 particles to serve as the anode in lithium-ion batteries. Both the nanostructure and the morphology of the SnS2 powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The coated samples were used as active anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, and their electrochemical properties were examined by constant current charge–discharge cycling, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The reversible capacity of the carbon-coated SnS2 after 50 cycles was 668mAh/g, which was much higher than that of the uncoated SnS2 (293mAh/g). The carbon-coated SnS2 also had a better rate capability than the uncoated SnS2 in the range of 0.008–1 C. The capacity retention of the carbon-coated SnS2 was improved due to its good conductivity and the effective buffer matrix that alleviated volume expansion during the charge–discharge process.