$SnO_2$ nanotubes were successfully synthesized using an electrospinning technique followed by calcination in air. The nanotubes were the single phase nature of $SnO_2$ and consisted of approximately 14 nm nanocrystals. SEM and TEM characterizations demonstrated that uniform hollow fibers with an average outer diameter of around 124 nm and wall thickness of around 25 nm were successfully obtained. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the $SnO_2$ nanotubes exhibited excellent cyclability and reversible capacity of $580mAhg^{-1}$ up to 25 cycles at $100mAg^{-1}$ as compared to $SnO_2$ nanoparticles with a capacity of ${sim}200mAhg^{-1}$. Such excellent performance of the $SnO_2$ nanotube was related to the one-dimensional hollow structure which acted as a buffer zone during the volume contraction and expansion of Sn.