Hydrogenated titanium oxyfluorides (TiOF2) nanoparticles were synthesized via one-pot hydrothermal method and subsequent hydrogenation treatment. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the hydrogenated TiOF2 showed a superior rate performance compared to the pristine TiOF2. A charge capacity of 118.4 mA h g−1 was achieved at the current density of 1053 mA g−1 upon 150 cycles, which was 4 times higher than that of the pristine TiOF2. The rate performance of the hydrogenated TiOF2 at different current densities of 42, 210, 1053, 2106, 5265, 10530, 21060 and 52650 mA g−1 was 2.8, 6.0, 13.2, 14.7, 21.5, 30.6, 67.9 and 483.3 times higher than those of the pristine TiOF2 electrode at the corresponding rates, respectively. The remarkable improvement of the electrochemical performance was likely related to the size breakdown in the (001) direction after hydrogenation, instead of oxygen vacancies induced better charge transfer properties.