Yes / Ultrasmall SnO2 nanocrystals as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have been synthesized by bubbling an oxidizing gas into hot surfactant solutions containing Sn-oleate complexes. Annealing of the particles in N2 carbonifies the densely packed surface capping ligands resulting in carbon encapsulated SnO2 nanoparticles (SnO2/C). Carbon encapsulation can effectively buffer the volume changes during the lithiation/delithiation process. The assembled SnO2/C thus deliver extraordinarily high reversible capacity of 908 mA.h.g(-1) at 0.5 C as well as excellent cycling performance in the LIBs. This method demonstrates the great potential of SnO2/C nanoparticles for the design of high power LIBs. / National Natural Science Foundation of China (21103039), Anhui Province Natural Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists, https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/browse?order=ASC&rpp=20&sort_by=-1&etal=-1&offset=6150&type=authorResearch Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20110111120008), Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Grant (DFG): H1113/3-5. C.Y. acknowledges the support from the “Thousand Talents Program” and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).