A new type of Li1-xFe0.8Ni0.2O2-LixMnO2 (Mn/(Fe + Ni + Mn) = 0.8) material was synthesized at 350 degrees C in air atmosphere using a solid-state reaction. The material had an XRD pattern that closely resembled that of the original Li1-xFeO2-LixMnO2 (Mn/(Fe + Mn) = 0.8) with much reduced impurity peaks. The Li/Li1-xFe0.8Ni0.2O2-LixMnO2 cell showed a high initial discharge capacity above 192 mAh g(-1), which was higher than that of the parent Li/Li1-xFeO2-LixMnO2 (186 mAh g(-1)). We expected that the increase of initial discharge capacity and the change of shape of discharge curve for the Li/Li1-xFe0.8Ni0.2O2-LixMnO2 cell is the result from the redox reaction from Ni2+ to Ni3+ during charge/discharge process. This cell exhibited not only a typical voltage plateau in the 2.8 V region, but also an excellent cycle retention rate (96%) up to 45 cycles. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.