Hierarchically heterostructured TiO2@SnO2 core-branch nanofibers are synthesized by a facile method using electrospinning followed by a hydrothermal treatment. By carefully controlling the TiO2 content in the composite, a hierarchical heterostructure featuring uniform growth of rutile SnO2 nanocubes on the surface of anatase TiO2 nanofibers can be obtained. The hierarchically branched TiO2@SnO2 nanofibers combine both advantages of SnO2 with large specific capacity and TiO2 with outstanding structural stability. The TiO2 content plays an important role in determining both the morphology and electrochemical performance of the composite. It is found that the TiO2@SnO2 nanofibers with 30 wt % TiO2 exhibit both large specific capacity and good cycling stability, making them promising as anodes for high performance lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.