A simple and scalable method for preparing CoO nanowire@C/carbon cloth (CC) composite materials is proposed in this paper, those composite materials can be used as the negative electrode of binderless lithium-ion batteries. Firstly, CoO nanowires@CC composite materials were prepared through simple hydrothermal and calcination methods, and then CoO nanowires@C/CC composite electrode materials with three-dimensional structure were obtained through glucose solution immersion and calcination. In the unique structure, carbon coated CoO nanowires uniformly disperse on carbon cloth forming a conductive carbon network. The hierarchical CoO nanowires in situ grown on the carbon cloth can effectively shorten the transfer paths of lithium ions and reduce the contact resistance. The thickness of carbon coating is about 1 nm. The carbon coating significantly inhibits the comminution of active materials during lithium ion insertion and extraction and the direct exposure of CoO to electrolyte. The results show that CoO@C/CC nanocomposites have excellent charge discharge performance and cycle stability when used as binder free negative electrode of lithium ion battery. At the current density of 1 A·cm-2, the specific capacity after 200 cycles is 863 mAh·cm-2 (capacity retention rate 75.83%). This study provides a feasible new choice for the cathode material of flexible lithium ion battery.