ZnMoO4·0.8H2O nanorods as anode materials for lithium ion batteries are obtained through facile aqueous solution method. The electrochemical properties of ZnMoO4·0.8H2O have been investigated for the first time with the mixture of sodium carboxyl methyl cellulose and polyacrylic acid (CMC/PAA) as binder. The experiments show that the CMC/PAA binder significantly improves the cycling performance and rate capability of ZnMoO4·0.8H2O compared with the conventional polyvinylidene-fluoride (PVDF) and CMC. The electrode of ZnMoO4·0.8H2O with CMC/PAA displays a stable reversible discharge capacity of 479mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1, a capacity fading rate of 0.7% per cycle to the second cycle and a higher initial coulombic efficiency of 89%. A capacity of 435mAhg−1 at 100mAg−1 can recover after 50cycles even following the discharge/charge process with the high current density of 500mAg−1. In addition, the CMC/PAA binder lowers Ohmic resistance and increase the lithium diffusion coefficient. All these advantages highlight the application of CMC/PAA binder used in ZnMoO4·0.8H2O.