Lithium ion batteries are well established as a prominent option for electrical energy storage due to their high-power and high-energy density. Here, we demonstrate fully reversible conversion in hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) functionalized with copper oxide when applied as an anode material for lithium ion batteries. HCSs have been produced with hard template and glucose as a carbon precursor. Copper oxide has been prepared via thermal decomposition of copper precursor. The spherical structure is uniform in diameter of 160 nm and shell thickness of ∼10 nm. Copper oxide (Cu2O) nanoparticles of about 2~5 nm in diameter are homogeneously distributed inside HCSs. The carbon structure between Cu2O nanoparticles buffers the volume change and prevents aggregation of Cu2O nanoparticles. Clearly, it provides also unobstructed pathways for electron transport and Li+ diffusion during charge/discharge processes. When evaluated as anode material for lithium ion batteries, HCSs with Cu2O nanoparticles deliver an enhanced high specific capacity of 682 mAh/g at a current density of 50 mA/g and super stable cycling performances even at higher current rates in comparison with HCSs. Therefore, these findings reveal a great potential of HCS/Cu2O nanoparticles as high-energy anode materials for LIBs.