With the ever-increasing power and energy needs in application of advanced consumer electronics and related technologies, developing electrode materials with both high energy and power densities holds the key for satisfying the urgent demand of energy storage worldwide. Herein, we report the successful preparation of NiCo2O4 nanowire arrays that are grown on nickel foam via a simple hydrothermal method followed by an annealing process. The electron microscopy images of the obtained NiCo2O4 nanowires reveal that the NiCo2O4 nanowires are uniformly distributed and anchored on the surface of nickel foam. Benefited from the unique structure of NiCo2O4 nanowires on a nickel foam substrate, the as prepared materials exhibit a high reversible capacity of 1048.8 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and show excellent rate performance for lithium storage.