In this paper, uniform 1D VO2 (A) nanostructures with controllable morphologies were prepared via an easy one-step hydrothermal method for the first time. Aspect ratios are tunable from 10 : 1 to 1000 : 1 by changing the synthesis parameters such as the concentration of vanadium source and the reaction time. The mechanism of morphology evolution was investigated and discussed based on the nucleation and growth process of VO2 (A) particles. Electrochemical analyses of VO2 (A) nanostructures were performed, and the results showed a capacity of 277 mAh g−1 for a Li-ion battery using these nanostructures as cathode materials. This shows a significant improvement compared with other vanadium oxides such as VO2 (B) (approximately 180 mAh g−1) and V2O5 (approximately 230 mAh g−1). Unfortunately, the VO2 (A) nanostructures exhibit high initial irreversible loss due to the formation of an intermediate layer after electrochemical reactions.