A facile synthetic strategy based on a water-based process is developed for the preparation of metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived materials by revisiting the hydrolyzed non-porous metal–organic frameworks (h-MOF). The poor water stability of MOF has been recognized as key limitations for its commercialization and large-scale applications because the hydrolysis resulted in the complete loss of their functionalities. However, we found that the negative effect of hydrolysis on MOF can be nullified during the heat treatment. As similar to the intact MOF, h-MOF can be used as a precursor for the preparation of MOF-derived materials from porous MOF-derived carbons (MDCs) to MDC@ZnO composites. The property of h-MOF-derived materials is almost equivalent to that of MOF-derived materials. In addition, h-MOF turned the weakness of water instability to the strength of facile water-based process for hybridization. With the demonstration of the hybrid composite between h-MDC@ZnO and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a prototype example, it exhibited superior electrochemical performance when evaluated as an electrode material for lithium-ion batteries.