Nano-Si embedded Si7Ti4Ni4 is synthesized with the melt spinning method, which is facile, and applicable to mass-production. Si7Ti4Ni4, the buffer material, is electrochemically inactive toward lithium. Nevertheless, Si7Ti4Ni4 has good electrical conductivity, in the order of 10(5) S m(-1), which is more conductive than amorphous carbon that is usually used as a coating material for active material. Furthermore, the surrounding grain boundaries of Si7Ti4Ni4 effectively relax volume expansion of Si. Therefore, it plays a critical role in maintaining the structure of electrode and the integrity of active materials. As a result, nano-Si embedded in Si7Ti4Ni4 shows outstanding cycle performance over 50 cycles at 400 mA g(-1), and it maintains 86% of its specific capacity at 3200 mA g(-1), compared with that of 400 mA g(-1). This indicates that nano-Si embedded in Si7Ti4Ni4 can be a promising anode material for lithium ion batteries. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.