In2O3 thin films with vertically aligned blade like structure are prepared at low temperature of 300 degrees C by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using InCl3, O-2 and H-2 as the precursors. The nanoscale morphology can be controlled by the H-2 flow in the reaction system. Vertically aligned nanoblades with smooth surface can be obtained by directly reacting InCl3 with O-2. Increasing the H-2 fraction in the reaction system will causes secondary growth on the blade surface and finally leads to destruction of the blade like structure. Optical emission spectroscopy suggests that the morphology evolution induced by H-2 addition can be attributed to the enhanced InCl3 dissociation and the suppressed etching effect of atomic Cl. The nanoblade In2O3 thin films exhibit superior lithium storage properties with a high stable capacity of 580 mAh.g(-1) up to 100 cycles, which is attributed to the well separated thin blade like nanostructure. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.