Layered MoS2 nanostructures are outstanding anode materials for lithium-ion batteries due to their potentially high capacity. Here, we report a flexible binder-free anode for LIBs, which was fabricated from vertically standing ultrathin MoS2 nanosheet arrays grown directly on a molybdenum foil as the current collector. The self-supported MoS2 nanosheet arrays exhibit high specific capacity (1041mAhg(-1) at a current density of 0.1Ag(-1)), good cycling stability (maintained 84% of the initial capacity after 40 cycles) and outstanding rate performance. The excellent performance should be ascribed to the short ionic diffusion length, good contact between the electrode materials and current collector, and easy transportation of lithium ions. And it also arises from the nano-/microscale pores and extensively exposed edges that effectively accommodate for the volume change of MoS2 nanosheets during the charge-discharge processes.