A novel method for fabricating tin nanoparticle thin film electrodes that show good performance in lithium ion batteries during cycling is reported. The vacuum filtration method has the advantage of affording a high degree of dispersion of the electrode components, thereby providing good electrical contacts between the tin nanoparticles and the conductive carbon or current collector. The reversible capacity and initial Coulombic efficiency are 726 mA h g(-1) and 85.3%, respectively, with this thin film electrode. Cycle life performance tests under real battery conditions show that the battery capacity and reaction peaks remained stable for up to 50 cycles. SEM shows that the uniform morphology of the vacuum filtered film was maintained throughout the cycle life test. This novel vacuum filtration method for providing nanoparticle-based film electrodes has further potential applications for use in various devices such as high power, thin film batteries, supercapacitors and organic-inorganic hybrid photovoltaic cells.