Materials with yolk-shell structure have attracted wide attention and they have been applied in energy storage devices with long cycle life. Carbon (yolk)-MoS2 (shell) hierarchical microspheres were successfully prepared in this study by a facile one-step hydrothermal method. Scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope images showed that the carbon-MoS2 microspheres were obviously made up of carbon yolk and MoS2 shell. The diameter of the yolk and thickness of shell were 2.1 and 0.26 A mu m, respectively. The as-prepared carbon-MoS2 yolk-shell hierarchical microspheres displayed charge capacity of 120 F g(-1) after 3000 charge and discharge cycles at the current density of 1 A g(-1). The superior electrochemical performance of the as-prepared materials was attributed to the yolk-shell structure and smart combination between carbon and MoS2. The yolk-shell structure provided sufficient void space for expansion without causing shell damage, leading to stable structure with long cycle life. The possible formation mechanism for the carbon-MoS2 yolk-shell microsphere was also discussed according to the characterization results. Carbon (yolk)-MoS2 (shell) hierarchical microspheres were successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal method with only one step. Materials with yolk-shell structure have been attracted wide attention and could be applied for long-cycle-life energy storage devices. When it was used as the electrode materials, it shown excellent electrochemical properties. Because the yolk-shell microsphere has sufficient void space for expansion without causing the shell to be destroyed, leading to stable structure and cycling. [GRAPHICS] .