A composite anode material of silicon/graphite/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) for Li-ion batteries was prepared by ball milling. This composite anode material showed a discharge capacity of 2274 mAh/g in the first cycle, and after 20 charge-discharge cycles, a reversible capacity of 584 mAh/g was retained, much higher than 218 mAh/g for silicon/graphite composite. It was observed that silicon particles were homogeneously embedded into the "lamellar structures" of flaked graphite particles, and the silicon/graphite composite particles were further wrapped by a MWNTs network. The improvement in the electrochemical properties of the composite anode material was mainly attributed to the excellent resiliency and good electric conductivity of the MWNTs network. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.