A self-assembly approach is used to fabricate a graphene-coated mesoporous carbon/sulfur composite. The graphene coating on the surface of the composite is 15–20nm in thickness, and sulfur is well dispersed in the pores of mesoporous carbon and the interfaces between the mesoporous carbon and graphene sheets after a heat treatment at 300°C. The graphene coating helps to increase the sulfur content and retard the diffusion of polysulfides. The galvanostatic charge–discharge tests show that the graphene-coated sulfur electrode presents good cycling stability. Specific discharge capacities up to 650mAhg−1 over 100 cycles at 0.1C is achieved with enhanced coulombic efficiency, representing a promising cathode material for lithium–sulfur battery.