Mesoporous MoS2-graphene nanohybrid with excellent electrode activity can be synthesized by the reductive hybridization of exfoliated MoS2 and graphene oxide (G-O) nanosheets under hydrothermal condition. The use of G-O precursor is crucial in synthesizing homogeneously hybridized MoS2-graphene materials with mesoporous stacking structure. The MoS2-graphene nanohybrid prepared with G-O shows promising electrode performance for lithium ion batteries with large discharge capacity of similar to 1400 mA h g(-1) for the 100th cycle and excellent rate performance, which is much superior to that of the homologue prepared with rG-O precursor and also restacked MoS2 nanosheets. The present results clearly demonstrate the usefulness of G-O precursor in the hydrothermal synthesis of graphene-based hybrid materials. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.