Abstract: SnO₂ hollow nanospheres were prepared by the simple heat treatment of sawdust impregnated by SnCl₄ water solution in alkaline conditions.The crystallographic structure of the sample was determined by X-ray powder diffraction（XRD）.The structure and morphology of these hollow SnO₂ nanostructures were investigated by transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（HRTEM）.The formation mechanism of SnO₂ hollow sphere was studied by TEM preliminarily;it indicates that microspheres containing Sn-ion were formed in the impregnating process.The electrochemical Li-insertion of hollow SnO₂ anodes were measured by the galvanostatic charge-discharge technique.Preliminary testing indicates that the initial charge capacity of 607.7 mAh g^-1 is higher than that of carbon-based materials（theoretically 372.0 mAh g^-1）.