The high initial irreversibility of SiOx, SnO and ultrafine SnSbx limits their practical use as anodes in lithium ion batteries. Composite electrodes based on Li2.6Co0.4N and these insertion materials (as the second reactant species) cannot only eliminate the initial irreversibility, but also provide a large reversible capacity. This paper investigates the charge and discharge characteristics of the composite electrodes and the influence of morphology and structure of the second reactant species and fabrication method of the electrodes on the cycle performance.