Despite the great advantages of hollow structures as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries, one apparent common drawback which is often criticized is their compromised volumetric energy density due to the introduced hollow interior. Here, we design and synthesize bowl-like SnO2 @carbon hollow particles to reduce the excessive hollow interior space while retaining the general advantages of hollow structures. As a result, the tap density can be increased about 30 %. The as-prepared bowl-like SnO2 @carbon hollow particles with conformal carbon support exhibit excellent lithium storage properties in terms of high capacity, stable cyclability and excellent rate capability.