Hybrid nanostructured transition metal oxides have attracted great attention as high-performance electrode materials for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. In this work, novel porous NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles are synthesized by a solvothermal method using poly (vinylpyrolidone) (PVP) as the structure-directing agent followed by a simple thermal annealing treatment. Through the XRD, FESEM, TEM, and N₂ sorption analyses, it has been found that the as-prepared NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles show hierarchical China rose flower-like architecture constituted by 2D hierarchically porous nanosheets. The 2D porous nanosheets provide sufficient void space generated during thermal annealing treatment, benefiting electrolyte penetration and fast electron transfer. The porous structure also can tolerate the volume variation upon prolonged charge / discharge cycling. Therefore, when the as-prepared NiCo₂O₄ nanoparticles are used as anode materials for the Li-ion batteries, they exhibit high capacity, remarkable capacity retention at increased current densities, and outstanding cycling stability (4 % loss after 100 cycles at 1000 mA g^-1).