Tin oxide (SnO₂) has a high theoretical capacity (~782 mAh/g) but, it experiences large volume changes during charge and discharge cycles that causes rapid capacity fade, which limits its practical use as an anode material. In an attempt to solve this, we coated these particles with ultrathin conductive metal oxide films that act as artificial solid electrolyte interphase layer, thus stabilizing the SnO₂ particles for better longevity of significantly improved performance at high current densities in a practical voltage window. Since there exists a tradeoff between species transport and protection of particles (expecting long life), a film with an optimum thickness was achieved by atomic layer deposition (ALD) on SnO₂ particles. The conductive film coated particles exhibit a significant improvement in capacity and cycling performance compared to uncoated samples. With an optimum thickness, an initial capacity of ~ 646 mAh/g was achieved at a high current density of 1,250 mA/g. After 1,000 cycles of charge/discharge at 1,250 mA/g, the coated sample showed a capacity retention of 95% as compared to 24% of the uncoated sample when cycled at room temperature; at 55 ^ºC, the capacity retention of the coated sample was 97% compared to 34% of the uncoated sample.