The electrochemical behaviors of nano-sized SnO anode in several electrolytes have been investigated. The SnO anode matched with 1 M LiPF6 dissolved in ethylene cardonate/diethyl carbonate (EC/DEC) (1:1 v/v) shows the best performance. The discharge capacity at the Ist cycle reaches 1160 mA h/g. After 10 cycles, half of the initial capacity has been maintained. The cycling behaviors of SnO in other electrolytes, especially in PC based electrolytes, are rather poor; The FTIR results of SnO in PC and EC based electrolytes at discharged state confirmed Chat a passivating film composed of Li2CO3 and ROCO2Li is formed on the surface of SnO anode. it indicates that the cyclic performance of SnO anode is strongly influenced by the properties of the surface film.