Recent developments of transition metal selenides as potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted much attention. In this work, NiSe2 nanosheets grown on carbon fiber cloth (denoted as NiS2 nanosheets/CFC) are successfully prepared via simple hydrothermal and subsequent annealing methods. When investigated as anode for LIBs, NiSe2 nanosheets/CFC exhibits high reversible capacities of 1196 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1, 811 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, corresponding to superior capacity retention of 94%. Besides, a high-rate capability of 682 mA h g−1 at 2 A g−1 is also achieved. The excellent electrochemical performance of NiSe2 nanosheets/CFC is mainly derived from the good electrical conductivity of carbon fiber cloth (CFC), the increased active-surface area and fast Li+ diffusion caused by the nanosheets structure with particle packing. Therefore, NiSe2 nanosheets/CFC is anticipated to be a promising anode material for flexible Li-ion batteries. Display omitted •NiSe2 nanosheets grown on CFC are successfully prepared.•NiSe2 nanosheets/CFC exhibits a high capacity of 1196 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g−1.•The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly due to the good conductivity and the nanostructure.