Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are promising candidates for next generation electrical energy storage devices due to their high specific energy. Despite intense research, there are still a number of technical challenges in developing a high performance Li-S battery. To elucidate the issues, an all solid-state Li-S battery was fabricated using Li3PS4 solid electrolyte. Most of the theoretical capacity of sulfur, 1600 mAhg(-1) was attained in the initial discharge-charge cycles with a high coulombic efficiency approaching 99%. To verify the benefit of the solid state electrolyte, galvanostatic stripping-deposition tests were also carried out on a symmetrical Li/Li cell and compared with those of a liquid electrolyte (1 M-lithium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) imide (LiTFSI) in a mixture of 1,3-dioxolane (DOL)-diethoxyethane (DEE)). The kinetics and thermodynamics of the solid-state cell are discussed from the viewpoint of the charge transfer processes. This study demonstrates both the merits and drawbacks of using the solid sulfide electrolyte in a Li-S battery and facilitates the further improvement of this important high energy storage device. (C) The Author(s) 2015. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 License (CC BY-NC-ND, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is not changed in any way and is properly cited. For permission for commercial reuse, please email: [email protected]. All rights reserved.