The new functional FeO/C composite carbon materials are successfully fabricated by controlling the adding amounts of Fe3O4 particles in mixtures of coal tar pitch and Fe3O4 particles. The structures of prepared FeO/C composite carbon materials were verified by XRD measurements. The excellent electrochemical performances of FeO/C composite carbon materials were evaluated in detail. For instance, the prepared materials show the high cycling performances at 679 mAh/g after carrying out charge-discharge 100 cycles. Meanwhile, the high rate performances and long cycle life characteristics of FeO/C composite materials were also observed. As a result, it is palpable that the carbon contents and specific area are the vital factors to improve the electrochemical performances of FeO/C composite materials, which effectively provides the reference to design the transition metal oxide/carbon composite materials as Li+ ion storage materials. (C) 2019 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.