A facile, environmentally friendly and low-cost synthesis strategy is demonstrated to fabricate a MoO2/N-doped graphene (MoO2/N-GNS) hybrid, in which MoO2 nanoparticles (NPs) are uniformly dispersed on N-GNS sheets by Mo–N chemical bond formed between MoO2 and N-GNS. As an anode material in lithium ion batteries, the MoO2/N-GNS hybrid possesses superior rate capability, excellent cycling performance as well as high reversible capacity. A reversible capacity of 1138.5 mA h g−1 is maintained after 60 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1, and even at a high current density of 1000 mA g−1, the specific capacity of 873.7 mA h g−1 can be obtained after 60 cycles. The superior electrochemical performance of the MoO2/N-GNS hybrid can be attributed to the synergistic effects of nitrogen-doping, flexible and conductive GNS, and MoO2 NPs.