Germanium (Ge) is a potential anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its ultrahigh theoretical capacity (1623 mAh⸳g^-1). However, Ge-based anodes suffer from huge volume variation during lithium insertion/extraction, leading to fast capacity fading. In this study, the GeO₂/Ge composite was synthesized by facile reducing GeO₂ by magnesium and utilized as an anode material for LIBs. As a result, the obtained GeO₂/Ge composite exhibits significantly improved cycling stability and specific capacity compared to the pure Ge. The enhanced electrochemical performance can be derived from the impact of the GeO₂ on reducing volume change during cycling.