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SnO 2 has triggered lots of research efforts as anode for sodium-ion batteries. However, the volume expansion and poor conductivity lead to an unsatisfactory electrochemical performance for the practical application of SnO 2 . In this work, a novel carbon-coated SnO 2 supported by porous carbon sphere composite is synthesized by hydrothermal process combining with annealing method. The porous carbon sphere@SnO 2 @carbon layer coating composite anode delivers a reversible capacity of 326 mAh g −1 over 80 cycles at a current density of 50 mA g −1 . Even at 1600 mA g −1 , a capacity of 82 mAh g −1 is still maintained after 550 cycles. Such excellent performance can be ascribed to the unique structure, which efficiently accommodates volume expansion, enhances conductivity and offers shortened sodium-ion transport pathway. The charge-storage mechanisms can be comprised of diffusion-controlled reaction and pseudocapacitance effect. At high scan rate of 1.0 mV s −1 , the capacity contribution of pseudocapacitance effect could reach as high as 78%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]