A novel morphology of mesoporous MnO2 fibers (MOF) are successfully prepared for the first time as host materials for lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. The as-prepared mesoporous MnO2 fibers can restrain the polysulfides dissolution via chemical bonding and physical trapping at the same time. As a result, the mesoporous MnO2 fibers sulfur (MOF/S) composites exhibit excellent cycle performance. The MOF/S composite electrodes deliver a high initial capacity of 1015 mAh g(-1) and maintain 815 mAh g(-1) after 200 cycles at 0.1 C. (C) 2018 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.