Li4Ti5O12 nanorods have been successfully synthesized via hydrothermal method using TiO2-B as titanium source and template. Such Li4Ti5O12 nanorods with sizes of 100-200 nm in diameter and 1-2 mu m in length can be observed. The Li4Ti5O12 nanorods exhibit high discharge capacity of about 101.1 mAh g(-1) after 1000 cycles at 20C for the lithium ion battery anode. The Li4Ti5O12 nanorods also show excellent sodium storage performance, which have a reversible capacity of approximately 131.6 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles at 0.1C. Based on the electrochemical performance, it is suggested that Li4Ti5O12 nanorods have a great potential for lithium and sodium ion battery that are available as large-scale storage devices for applications such as automotive and stationary energy storage. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.