NiO nanowalls with mean diameter of 300nm and mean thickness of 30nm have been successfully grown on Ni foam via an electrochemical corrosion approach and subsequent sintering. The NiO-Ni shows superior electrochemical performance as anode for sodium ion batteries owing to the morphological and architectural advantages. It delivers high charge/discharge capacity of 491/501mAhg−1 after 100 cycles at specific capacity of 300mAhg−1 in a half cell. When matching with a Na3V2(PO4)3 cathode, it can also deliver charge/discharge capacity of 103/108mAhg−1 after 50 cycles.