NiO鈥揅oO nanoneedles are grown on carbon fibers by a solvothermal strategy to form nanobrushes. The density of nanobrushes can be easily controlled by altering the solvents. The synthesis mechanism of NiO鈥揅oO/carbon fiber nanobrushes is investigated by the time-dependent experiments in detail. As anodes for lithium ion batteries, the NiO鈥揅oO/carbon fiber nanobrushes synthesized in ethanol show excellent properties with a discharge capacity of 801 mA h g鈥? after 200 cycles at a current density of 200 mA g鈥?. The improvement can be ascribed to the carbon fibers as the highway for electrons and the interspace between NiO鈥揅oO nanoneedles to accommodate the volume change and maintain the structural stability.