An amorphous iron oxide–carbon composite has been fabricated through an effective, inexpensive, and scalable method employing solution combustion synthesis. Amorphous iron oxide nanoparticles with diameters of about 5nm were synthesized and uniformly embedded in a dense carbon matrix. The synthesized composite exhibits enhanced cyclability and rate capability, showing a high reversible capacity of 687mAhg−1 after 200 discharge/charge cycles at a current rate of 0.5Ag−1, compared to the 400mAhg−1 observed for Fe2O3 nanoparticles. This enhanced performance was retained despite more demanding conditions, delivering a high capacity of about 525mAhg−1 and a nearly perfect coulombic efficiency even after 400 cycles at 1Ag−1. The easy production and superior electrochemical properties of this composite suggest that it is a promising material for use as an anode material in high performance lithium ion batteries.