Li-rich layered oxides are promising cathode materials for advanced Li-ion batteries because of their high specific capacity and operating potential. In this work, the Li-rich layered oxide Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (LMNC), is modified via a carbonization-reduction process (yielding the corresponding reduced compound denoted LMNC-R). Compared to the pristine oxide, LMNC-R delivers significantly enhanced initial discharge capacity/columbic efficiency, remarkably improved rate performance with an accelerated Li+ diffusion rate, and significantly increased capacity/voltage retention. The specific energy density and energy retention after 100 cycles increase from 378.2 Wh kg(-1) and 47.7% for LMNC to 572.0 Wh kg(-1) and 71.3%, respectively, for LMNC-R. The enhancement in the electrochemical performance of LMNC-R can be attributed to the synchronous formation of the oxygen non-stoichiometric Li2MnO3-delta component and to the carbon/spinel double coating layer in the material that resulted from the post-treatment process. Thus, the carbonization-reduction modification process can be used to tailor the structural evolution procedure and to suppress the metal ion dissolution of the Li-rich layered oxide during cycling. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.