The development of accurate, reliable and low cost devices for glucose detection is one of the most important scientific and technological hotspots. In this study, we proposed a unique one-step thermal synthesis strategy to synthesize nickel (Ni) nanoparticles modified graphene (GE) sheets by using metal-oleate complex as the precursor and sodium sulfate as a template. With the assistance of sodium sulfate particles, Ni nanoparticles with particle size of about 99.2 nm were homogenously anchored on graphene nanosheets in the product. The electrochemical behavior of the nanocomposite towards enzyme-free glucose oxidation was investigated systematically by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric measurements. The results reveal that the GE/Ni nanocomposite exhibited excellent electrocatalytic response to glucose with a wide linear range of 0.01-2.5 mM, a low detection limit of 0.79 mu M, and a high sensitivity of 388.4 A mM(-1) cm(-2). In addition, no significant interference was observed from potential interference species. The simple, efficient and scalable synthesis and the excellent catalytic performance endow the GE/Ni nanocomposite great potential application in enzymeless glucose detection. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.