Aluminum-air (Al-air) battery is one of the most promising candidates for next-generation energy storage systems because of its high capacity and energy density, and abundance. The polyacrylic acid (PAA)-based alkaline gel electrolyte is used in all-solid-state Al-air batteries instead of aqueous electrolytes to prevent leakage. The optimal gel electrolyte exhibits an ionic conductivity of 460 mS cm(-1), which is close to that of aqueous electrolytes. The Al-air battery peak capacity and energy density considering only Al can reach 1166 mAh g(-1)-Al and 1230 mWh (g-1)-Al, respectively, during constant current discharge. The battery prototype also exhibits a high power density of 91.13 mW cm(-2). For the battery is a laminated structure, area densities of 29.2 mAh cm-2 and 30.8 mWh cm(-2) are presented to appraise the performance of the whole cell. A novel design to inhibit anodic corrosion is proposed by separating the Al anode from the gel electrolyte when not in use, thereby effectively maintaining the available capacity of the battery. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.