In the natural habitat, bacteria have an ability to produce cellulose in the form of three-dimensional inter-woven nanofibrous network. As-produced bacterial cellulose is highly pure with exceptional properties such as high crystallinity, high degree of polymerization, high water retention capabilities, and greater mechanical properties. Upon pyrolysis, carbon nanofibers derived from bacterial cellulose are being utilized as high-capacity anode materials in lithium-ion batteries due to their structural stability, mechanical flexibility, high surface area, and open porous structure. Apart from nanofibrous architecture, bacterial cellulose provides an additional advantage of tuning their physiochemical properties in terms of morphology, porosity, crystallinity, and orientation besides incorporation of additives which resembles in the carbon nanofibers upon pyrolysis. This review highlights the recent advances in bacterial cellulose production and tuning of its properties followed by electrochemical performance of the derived carbon nanofibers. Strategies for modifications of bacterial cellulose network for further enhancement in lithium-ion battery performance are also discussed. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2018, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.