Carbon-supported SnO2 nanowire arrays were synthesized by a facile strategy using self-assembled mesoporous carbon as template followed by partial removal of the carbon. The as-obtained materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and nitrogen adsorption. The resulting products possess a large specific surface area due to the free interspaces between the nanowires. When evaluated as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, the carbon-supported SnO2 nanowires can deliver large reversible capabilities with excellent cycling performance on account of the mesoporous carbon matrix, which can be served as a buffering layer to relax the stress, reduce the volume variation, and protect the SnO2 nanowires from severe structural degradation during the insertion-deinsertion process of lithium ions.