This paper reviews the state of the art of composite polymer electrolytes (CPE) in view of their electrochemical and physical properties for the applications in lithium batteries. This review mainly encompasses on composite polymer electrolyte hosts namely poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) studied so far. Also the ionic conductivity, transference number, compatibility and the cycling behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoro propylene) (PVdF-HFP)-[AlO(OH)](n)-LiPF6/LiClO4 composite electrolytes have been studied and the results are discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.