HIGHLIGHTS • WS 2-rGO nanosheets with ultra-small thicknesses and ultra-lightweight, were successfully prepared by a facile hydrothermal method. • The WS 2-rGO isomorphic heterostructures exhibited remarkable microwave absorption properties. ABSTRACT Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are categorized as a new class of microwave absorption (MA) materials owing to their high specific surface area and peculiar electronic properties. In this study, 2D WS 2-reduced graphene oxide (WS 2-rGO) heterostructure nanosheets were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process; moreover, their dielectric and MA properties were reported for the first time. Remarkably, the maximum reflection loss (RL) of the sample-wax composites containing 40 wt% WS 2-rGO was − 41.5 dB at a thickness of 2.7 mm; furthermore, the bandwidth where RL < − 10 dB can reach up to 13.62 GHz (4.38-18 GHz). Synergistic mechanisms derived from the interfacial dielectric coupling and multiple-interface scattering after hybridization of WS 2 with rGO were discussed to explain the drastically enhanced microwave absorption performance. The results indicate these lightweight WS 2-rGO nanosheets to be potential materials for practical electromagnetic wave-absorbing applications.