1D nanostructured metal oxides with porous structure have drawn wide attention to being used as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). This study puts forward a simple and scalable strategy to synthesize porous NiO nanorods with the help of a thermal treatment of metal-organic frameworks in air. The NiO nanorods with an average diameter of approximately 38 nm are composed of nanosized primary particles. When evaluated as anode materials for LIBs, an initial discharge capacity of 743 mA h g(-1) is obtained at a current density of 100 mA g(-1), and a high reversible capacity is still maintained as high as 700 mA h g(-1) even after 60 charge-discharge cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly ascribed to the 1D porous structure.